Putney Lower Common Cemetery
by IanAWood
In 1855 3 acres of land of Putney Lower Common were bought by the local Burial Board from Earl Spencer, Lord of the Manor, for this small cemetery. It was established by 1858 on the edge of Putney Lower Common and Barnes Common, and remains visually part of these open spaces. It has ornate railings and gates on Lower Richmond Road, and is otherwise bounded by brick wall, with intermittent railings along the east. The rag stone chapels and lodge were designed by Barnett and Birch in 1855 and built by a local firm of builders, W and R Aviss, whose family tomb is in the cemetery. There are some interesting historic tombs, including that of Sir Alfred Dryden (d.1912), a descendent of John Dryden, the poet. The cemetery is now closed for burials except within privately owned graves. There are a variety of trees including yew and the cemetery is wooded towards the north where the boundary wall abuts Barnes Common.
