THE final resting place of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and the scene where James Bond has a near miss in GoldenEye will receive £3.7 million of restoration money.
Brompton Cemetery, managed by the Royal Parks and spreading over 39 acres with over 35,000 monuments, attracts thousands of visitors each year as well as housing an abundance of wildlife.
The grant from The Big Lottery Fund and The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was announced on Wednesday (January 8) and means key monuments and memorials can now be refurbished, an information centre can be built and the landscape can be restored to better reflect the original design.
The cemetery is home to the resting place of many notable people, including Henry Cole, the founder of the Royal Albert Hall, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the inventor of the Christmas card, actor Henry McGee, American socialite and singer, Fanny Ronalds and Henry Augustus Mears, founder of nearby Chelsea Football Club.
Dating back to 1840, the Grade I listed garden cemetery in between Old Brompton Road and Fulham Road is also a member of the Magnificent Seven, a moniker given to the seven large London cemeteries built in the Victorian era to cater for the rapidly growing London population.
Greg McErlean, director of projects at the Royal Parks, said: “We are delighted that our bid has been successful. Our proposals are reflective of the close work undertaken with the Friends of Brompton Cemetery and the local community to ensure Brompton Cemetery gets the sustainable future that its rich history deserves.”
Carole Souter, chief executive of HLF said 18 years of lottery investment in public parks has transformed tired and in some cases under used green spaces into thriving community hubs. “Our historic cemeteries, with their wealth of heritage, also offer huge untapped potential and we’re delighted now to include them specifically in this programme,” she added.
