Magnificent Seven, London

Abney Park

Brompton

Highgate

Kensal Green

Nunhead

Tower Hamlets

West Norwood

The "Magnificent Seven" is an informal term applied to seven large cemeteries in London. They were established in the 19th century to alleviate overcrowding in existing parish burial grounds.

Background

In the first 50 years of the 19th century the population of London more than doubled from 1 million to 2.3 million. At this time all London's dead were buried in small parish churchyards, which quickly became dangerously overcrowded, leading to decaying matter getting into the water supply and causing epidemics. There were stories of graves being dug that already contained bodies, and bodies being flushed directly into the newly-built sewer system.^{[citation needed]}

The cemeteries

In 1832 Parliament passed a bill encouraging the establishment of private cemeteries outside London, and later passed a bill to close all inner London churchyards to new deposits.^{[citation needed]} Over the next decade seven cemeteries were established:

• Kensal Green Cemetery, 1832
• West Norwood Cemetery, 1837
• Highgate Cemetery, 1839
• Abney Park Cemetery, 1840
• Nunhead Cemetery, 1840
• Brompton Cemetery, 1840
• Tower Hamlets Cemetery, 1841

In 1981 the architectural historian Hugh Meller dubbed the group of cemeteries "The Magnificent Seven" after the 1960 western film of the same name.

External links

• The National Federation of Cemetery Friends website
• Photographic studies of each one of London's Magnificent Seven Cemeteries