The Sinclair Cross
Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858-95)
In Brompton Cemetery during the Month of the Dead
Brompton Cemetery is one of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries, formed after an act of Parliament for the interment of the dead.
The site proposed for this cemetery was surrounded by fields and market gardens and was bordered to the west by the Kensington Canal. The majority of the land, which belonged to Lord Kensington, was acquired by August 1839. An additional c 2ha on the south side was bought from the Equitable Gas Company. The land, formerly the site of brickworks and market gardens, was flat and lacked the varied topography of Highgate (qv) and Nunhead (qv) Cemeteries. It was described as 'having no natural attraction whatever ... not a tree and scarcely a shrub adorn the place'...in 1838 the Board of Directors decided to hold a public competition. This was won by Benjamin Baud (1807-75)...To overcome the constraints of the site his scheme relied on architectural drama for its impact. Brompton was a classical conception with dramatic vistas and spaces, in a rural setting...Building work started in 1839 and the cemetery was consecrated in June 1840, the first burial taking place a few weeks later. The building works and the landscaping were far from complete however and the North Lodge had to be used as a temporary chapel, the Anglian Chapel being eventually completed in 1842. Baud's extravagant ideas and a slow initial uptake of burial plots appears to have led the directors into financial difficulties. Baud's designs were therefore altered, building specifications were skimped, and serious faults appeared in the catacombs; in 1843 Baud was dismissed.
[Historic England]
The Sinclair Cross
Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858-95)
In Brompton Cemetery during the Month of the Dead
Brompton Cemetery is one of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries, formed after an act of Parliament for the interment of the dead.
The site proposed for this cemetery was surrounded by fields and market gardens and was bordered to the west by the Kensington Canal. The majority of the land, which belonged to Lord Kensington, was acquired by August 1839. An additional c 2ha on the south side was bought from the Equitable Gas Company. The land, formerly the site of brickworks and market gardens, was flat and lacked the varied topography of Highgate (qv) and Nunhead (qv) Cemeteries. It was described as 'having no natural attraction whatever ... not a tree and scarcely a shrub adorn the place'...in 1838 the Board of Directors decided to hold a public competition. This was won by Benjamin Baud (1807-75)...To overcome the constraints of the site his scheme relied on architectural drama for its impact. Brompton was a classical conception with dramatic vistas and spaces, in a rural setting...Building work started in 1839 and the cemetery was consecrated in June 1840, the first burial taking place a few weeks later. The building works and the landscaping were far from complete however and the North Lodge had to be used as a temporary chapel, the Anglian Chapel being eventually completed in 1842. Baud's extravagant ideas and a slow initial uptake of burial plots appears to have led the directors into financial difficulties. Baud's designs were therefore altered, building specifications were skimped, and serious faults appeared in the catacombs; in 1843 Baud was dismissed.
[Historic England]