St Georges Church & Graveyard - Beckenham

LOCATION:

You will find the site on High Street, Bromley Road in Beckenham, Kent. The site is relatively easy to get to. Beckenham Junction rail and tram are right next to it. There are also plenty of buses going that way including the 54 and 367. There are 2 entrances; there is the main entrance, located at the front of the church and another which you can access through the park right next to it. The graveyard is in the London Borough of Bromley.

FIRST OPENED:

The building itself dates back to 1100. In 1885, the graveyard and the church began refurbishment and in 1887, it was completed.

FAMOUS RESIDENTS:

William Eden, 1^st Baron Auckland – A British statesman and diplomat. The Auckland Islands, New Zealand, were named after him.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

The site has no other recorded previous names. Seeing as it was built in the 12^th century however, it could have gone by another name them but we will never know.

SIZE & LAYOUT:

The layout of the site, excluding the park right next to it, is roughly that of a square shape. The size of the site is about 0.6 hectares.

THE WALKABOUT:

I came across this place as I was setting out to do a walkabout of another graveyard. I couldn’t believe that it was right there and I had never noticed it before. I only live about 10 minutes from the place! Straight off, I hate that it is stuck in the middle of quite a busy road. I always feel that these places need the quiet out of respect. At the main entrance, you are greeted by a 13^th century lych gate. This is one of the oldest ones in England apparently. It’s a beautiful dark oak colour. The gate leads on to a stone path that takes you to the front door of the parish. It’s a beautiful Victorian structure with its famous stained glass windows. The building is built in ragstone with an ashlar dressing. It is extremely grand, there are no other ways to describe it.

There are actually quite a few graves around here. All of them from at least the 19^th century, they are very well preserved and looked after. There are a great amount of trees and bushes to give it more of a naturist feel but not enough to destroy or hide the gravestones. There are quite a few monuments here too. Most of them seem to be that of past priests and their families. It is so hard to believe the amount of graves that are actually in here yet it does not seem cramped at all! What I loved most was the line of graves that were facing into the park right next to it. I can’t describe why I like it, I just do. Maybe for me, it was almost like looking into a different world.     

There is not much else I can really tell you about this place as it is quite small. It really is just one of those places where you have to come and see for yourself. If the graves aren’t your thing then the building itself will ce4rtainly take your breath away. They have maintained all of the trees and the bushes so that they can bring a bit of wildlife back to the place. It seems to have worked as there where squirrels everywhere.

ANY GHOSTS?:

Whilst I was there I noticed that even though the site is in the middle of a somewhat busy junction, when you are exploring the place it actually appears eerily quiet. I don’t know whether this is because I subconsciously shut out the noise or it just wasn’t that noisy at all. Due to this, I could get a real feeling of the place. I felt a few times that I could hear whispering but shrugged it off due to the background noise.

As I was going through my photos, I caught this weird image. Not so much a ghost but what appears like a strange creature. I am aware that there could be a great chance that it could be part of a gravestone or even a piece of rock on the floor but I am pretty sure that nothing was there when I took it.

 

FINAL (RESTING) WORD:

I am usually quite skeptical with graveyards that are so close to a main road, only because I feel that it ruins the peace and serenity of the place, but this one is truly magnificent. Don’t let the size or the surroundings cloud your judgment, it really does hold its own. It is beautiful in all seasons, especially the autumn, and there is plenty of history to be explored. It is definitely one to check out if you are in the area.   

“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: 5/5 – Despite the traffic right outside it, I absolutely love this place, utterly stunning.

LINKS: http://www.stgeorgesbeckenham.co.uk/

 

 

 

Beckenham Crematorium & Graveyard

LOCATION:

The graveyard is situated in the London borough of Bromley. The main entrance can be found along Elmers End Road, Beckenham. There is also a back entrance found at Harrington Road tram stop. It is also found in between South Norwood Country Park and Birbeck.

FIRST OPENED:

The graveyard itself opened in 1876 (although there is an argument that it was actually opened in 1880), the crematorium opened its doors in 1956.

FAMOUS RESIDENTS:

Frederick Wolseley: Invented and developed the first commercially used sheep shearing machinery

William Walker: A famous British diver

WG Grace: Famous English Amateur cricketer

Frank Bourne: British soldier

Thomas Crapper: Plumber, founded the Thomas Crapper & Co in London

George Evans (VC): An English recipient of the Victoria cross

Josiah Stamp: The 1^st Baron Stamp. He was a civil servant, industrialist, economist, statistician, writer and banker. He was also the director of the bank of England and chairman of London, Midland and Scotland railway.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

The park was initially known as Crystal Palace District Cemetery. It is sometimes still known as Elmers End Cemetery (due to how close the station is to it).

SIZE & LAYOUT:

There is over 12 hectares of land. The layout is quite simple; it is almost a rectangle shape.

THE WALKABOUT:

When I first go into a graveyard I like to start off in the oldest part if possible as this is what interests me the most. Luckily this one has their oldest part near the front entrance. They have lots of little alcoves and hidden pathways for me to explore. The sheer amount of bushes and trees for a start make you feel very much closed in. I say this all the time, but it’s a shame to see so many unkempt graves, no one should be forgotten. Although this adds to the look and feel of the place, it always makes me feel sad.

A lot of the gravestones tend to have statues on them (usually of angels). In the winter these look amazing, if not slightly serene and creepy. I found a lot of very interesting backgrounds such as a man who died trying to save his child or the old couple who died within hours of each other (I will not name names out of respect). You have a constant feeling of someone watching you, but it doesn’t scare me at all, I feel like I’m being watched over rather than watched,

The newer part, where the church and the crematorium is, has so much to see, but you have to be careful walking around as there are always services going on. I got chased out last time because they thought I was trying to be disruptive! The church was built just before the cemetery opened. It has a beautiful Gothic look to it and it is covered in colourful ivy.

ANY GHOSTS?:

As I walked around I could always feel several presences. No bad ones this time. Last time I was here I walked past a certain part and got a bad feeling, so I took a photograph. The picture had a very nasty looking sneering face in it, unfortunately, my computer crashed and I lost the photo. But here are some others I found. Feel free to make a judgement, I have had them looked over and they have been proved as real and nothing could be found otherwise to what they could have been:

This one kind of looks like a monk

 

It was snowing this day, but this was not a piece of snow.
 

FINAL (RESTING) WORD:

Not only is this my local graveyard but possibly my favourite. I prefer to visit it in the winter and I suggest that all of you do too! Check out the old part first as you will feel like you are going on an adventure! Just remember to remain respectful!! As I always say:

“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 too see”

RATING: 4/5 – My local and my favorite, well worth a walk around, especially in the autumn.
 

LINKS: http://www.beckenhamcrematorium.co.uk/