Bromley Hill Cemetery

 

 

LOCATION:

It is in the London borough of Lewisham. It is on Bromley Hill, Bromley. The nearest station is Ravensbourne. A number of buses also stop outside it.

 

FIRST OPENED:

It first opened in 1905 – 1907 (not too sure of the date as this is what keeps coming up).

 

FAMOUS RESIDENTS:

Sir Edward Campbell: MP for Bromley

“Italian Albert” Dimes: Soho gang leader

Roy Marchand: Battle of Britain pilot

 

ALSO KNOWN AS:

N/A

 

SIZE & LAYOUT:

The site is about 6.5 acres. The rises up but it is still pretty much rectangular shaped.

 

THE WALKABOUT:

As soon as you walk through the gates, the first thing you notice is that the graveyard is sitting on a hill. The clue should have been in the name really! Make sure you are prepared for a bit of a hike if you come here (as I sure wasn’t!). The first thing I also noticed was that this graveyard is certainly tidy, definitely more of a lawn cemetery. It’s quite refreshing really. It’s a big place so prepare yourselves.

They have both a chapel and a mortuary chapel which are both found about half way up the hill. You can’t miss them as they are pretty much bright orange brickwork. They both appear to be abandoned but as far as I know, they are both still in use. There is also a modern hose there that actually used to be a lodge.

All around there are beautiful trees ranging from cedar to silver birch. There are also lots of memorial benches placed around. The memorial garden for cremations is stunning. You can tell that this place is well looked after. It makes it a lot easier if you want to go looking for certain graves. Exploring here is made a lot easier as well as you don’t have any woodland. There are not too many old looking graves considering how old the place actually is. Most are weather beaten but apart from that, they are still in pretty good condition.

 

ANY GHOSTS?:

As I was walking around I didn’t feel a certain presence with me. I felt a big mix of emotions if anything. I didn’t capture any ghosts or spirits during this walkabout. Maybe it just wasn’t my day! I also think that the fact that it was so near a main road did not help matters.

 

FINAL (RESTING) WORD:

Not one of the best graveyards I have ever been to, or the quietest for that matter, but it is well looked after and is a lovely sight. I would recommend going there on a nice sunny day.

“Respect those who are not physically here, you can’t see them but they can see you, and disrespect is something they don’t want to see”

 

RATING: 3/5 – this graveyard doesn’t have a lot of personality to it but in the summer it is still beautiful to walk around.

 

LINKS: http://www.bromley.gov.uk/directory_record/508040/bromley_hill_cemetery