Cemeteries

In March 2002, English Heritage, in partnership with English Nature, published Paradise Preserved, an introduction to the assessment, evaluation, conservation and management of historic cemeteries. The guidance was compiled as a first response to a request from the Government following the Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry on cemeteries held in 2001, for the two organisations to make such information available. This booklet follows on from Paradise Preserved, providing more detailed information on one of the main means by which the importance of historic cemeteries can be acknowledged, that is, their inclusion on the national Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.

As its full name implies, the Register of Parks and Gardens seeks to identify those designed landscapes which are of special historic interest in the national context. Its main purpose is to help ensure that the features and qualities which make sites of national importance can be safeguarded during ongoing management or if any change is being considered which could affect them. It is hoped that, by drawing attention to sites in this way, English Heritage will increase awareness of their value and encourage those who own them, or who have a role in their protection and their future, to treat these special places with care. Further information about the Register is provided in the booklet The Register of Parks and Gardens An Introduction (see end of booklet for details).

Very few cemeteries were included in the Register as first published in the 1980s; of the 1065 sites initially registered, only fourteen were cemeteries and of these, nine were within Greater London. As the general appreciation of cemeteries as designed historic landscapes increased during the late 1980s and 1990s, it became clear that many more than this deserved a place on the Register. In 1994, English Heritage commissioned a desk-based thematic survey to provide the context for further assessment work. The survey was undertaken by the late Chris Brooks, author of Mortal Remains, and much of the information contained in this booklet is taken from the report he prepared (English Historic Cemeteries - A Theme Study, 1994).

Other competing demands meant that, following this initial survey, little progress was possible on the actual assessment of individual cemeteries. Only a few such sites were formally considered for registration until 2001 when additional resources were found to enable the setting up a two-year project designed to increase greatly the number of cemeteries on the Register. In the first year, forty sites were found to meet the stringent criteria used in registration and it seems probable that by the end of the current financial year (2002/03), a further forty sites will have been added to the national list bringing the total number of cemeteries included on the Register to around 110.

Download the full version of The Register of Parks and Gardens: Cemeteries as a pdf.