A Haunting Graveyard Reclaimed By Nature
Situated by the London Wetland Centre, Barnes Green is Barnes Old Cemetery.
The eerie graveyard is home to a number of tombs, but these can be hard to find because most are overgrown whilst others have totally sunk into the ground.
There hasn’t been much information about the graveyard online except that the cemetery was established in 1854 and closed in 1966, after Richmond council bought the plot.
The council originally planned to clear all the trees and gravestones to turn it into a lawn cemetery – where only flat memorials would be permitted. However after removing the cemetery’s chapel, gates and railings, the site was left to the elements and abandoned.
There have been a few forums that rumoured a ghostly nun haunts the area, while others have warned its a regular cruising spot. However there are eight war graves that are regularly maintained and stick out within the overgrowth.
History surrounds this place nevertheless and Richmond Council are proud of the graveyard as it’s “atmospheric and romantic with an evocative atmosphere of decay and seclusion”.
