Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 () and the crematorium was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson, founder of the Cremation Society.
Golders Green Crematorium, as it is usually called, is in Hoop Lane, off Finchley Road, Golders Green, in northwest London, near Golders Green Underground station. It is directly opposite the Golders Green Jewish Cemetery. The crematorium is secular and accepts all faiths and non-believers. The crematorium gardens are listed at Grade I in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
History
The lawfulness of cremation in Great Britain was not established until 1885. The Woking Crematorium had already been built in Woking and proved successful. At that time, cremation was championed by the Cremation Society of England. This society was governed by a council, at that time led by Sir Henry Thompson (president and founding member). There is a bust to his memory in the West Chapel of Golders Green Crematorium. Out of this Society was formed the London Cremation Company (which has its offices on the premises), who desired to build a crematorium within easy reach of London.
The crematorium in Golders Green was designed by the architect Sir Ernest George and his partner Alfred Yeates. The gardens were laid out by William Robinson. The crematorium is a red brick building in Lombardic style and was built in stages, as money became available. The crematorium opened in 1902 and was built in four phases (1901–1910, 1910–1911, 1912–1916, 1926–1928). By 1939, the site was largely completed, although since then some buildings have been added. Since November 1902 more than 323,500 cremations have taken place at Golders Green Crematorium, far more than any other British crematorium. It is estimated that the crematorium now averages around 2,000 cremations a year. The funerals of many prominent people have taken place there over the last century.
The chimney of the crematorium is located within the tower and the building is in an Italianate style. The of gardens are extensively planted, and produce a beautiful and tranquil environment for visitors. There are several large tombs, two ponds and bridge, and a large crocus lawn. Another notable feature is a special children's section, which includes a swinging bench. There is also a 'communist corner' with memorials to notable members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. There are two cremation chapels and a Chapel of Memory. There are also three columbaria containing the ashes of thousands of Londoners and residents of neighbouring counties.
Fourteen holders of the Victoria Cross have been cremated here, and there are locations and memorials for many other military personnel of all ranks, and from many countries. Largest among them is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial, commemorating 497 British and Commonwealth military casualties of both World Wars who were cremated here. Designed by Sir Edward Maufe, it was unveiled in 1952. Built in Portland stone with names listed on three bronze panels, it stands at head of an ornamental pond at the western end of the memorial cloister.
At Christmas, a Christmas tree is erected in the field in front of the main buildings. Although the crematorium is secular, a nativity scene is also placed near the Chapel of Memory.
Monuments
The crematorium gardens are listed at Grade I in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The Philipson Family mausoleum, designed by Edwin Lutyens, is a Grade II* listed building on the National Heritage List for England and the crematorium building, the wall, along with memorials and gates, the Martin Smith Mausoleum and Into The Silent Land, a sculpture by Henry Alfred Pegram are all Grade II listed buildings. The largest sculpture portraying someone cremated here is the statue of Indian industrialist and friend of Gandhi, Ghanshyam Das Birla.
Visiting A map of the Garden of Rest and some information on persons cremated here is available from the office. Staff are available to help in finding a specific location.
Notable cremations Ashes at Golders Green Crematorium Among those whose ashes are retained or were scattered here, are:
Richard Addinsell, English composer (ashes scattered in communal section of crocus lawn)Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 508–509). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition. Larry Adler, American harmonica playerResting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson Kingsley Amis, British writer, one of the Angry young men Boris Anrep, Russian artist Pegaret Anthony, British artist Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British soldier, VC recipient Sir Edward Battersby Bailey, geologist Lionel Bart, composer of Oliver! and many other shows and songs Ronnie Biggs, criminal and participant of The Great Train Robbery of 1963 Eric Blom, British musicologist Simon Blumenfeld, writer and columnist Enid Blyton, children's author (Famous Five, Noddy) Marc Bolan, musician, poet and writer (founder of T. Rex) Bernard Bresslaw, Carry On film series actor Arthur Brough, actor George Brown, Baron George-Brown, Labour party politician, ultimately Foreign Secretary. Jack Bruce, Scottish composer, musician and member of Cream Mrs Victor Bruce, racing motorist, speedboat racer and aviator Bella Burge, music hall performer and boxing promoter Sir Neville Cardus, notable cricket writer, also distinguished music critic George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe, English colonial administrator and writer Eric Coates, English composer of light music"Funeral: Mr. Eric Coates", The Times, 27 December 1957, p. 8 Leslie Compton, English footballer and cricketerEngland Football Online Steve Conway, singer Cicely Courtneidge, actress and comedianPepys-Whiteley, D. "Courtneidge, Dame (Esmerelda) Cicely (1893–1980)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, accessed 8 August 2011 Walter Crane, English artist and book illustrator Tony Crombie, English jazz musician Victor Dandré, Russian impresario and husband of Anna Pavlova Ed Devereaux, Australian actor James Dewar, British chemist and physicist (inventor of the Dewar flask or vacuum flask) Edith Durham, writer, traveller and anthropologist Ray Ellington, English musician Havelock Ellis, intellectual Dame Millicent Fawcett, leader of the suffragist movement Kathleen Ferrier, British singer (there is a rosebed in her memory) Molly Fink, Australian socialite and wife of Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman of Pudukkottai. Bud Flanagan, singer and Crazy Gang star George Frampton, British sculptor Lynne Frederick, actress Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud, also a psychoanalyst, especially of childrenEric T. Pengelley, Daphne M. Pengelley. A Traveler's Guide to the History of Biology and Medicine. Davis, Calif.: Trevor Hill Press, 1986, p. 86. Sigmund and Martha Freud,Burke, Janine The Sphinx at the Table: Sigmund Freud's Art Collection and the Development of Psychoanalysis, New York: Walker and Co. 2006, p. 340. father of modern psychoanalysis and his wife Ernest George, English architect (and who designed this crematorium with Alfred Yeates) Simon Gipps-Kent, English actor, Crocus Lawn, Section 3H Elinor Glyn, English romantic novelist and scriptwriter. Ernő Goldfinger, Hungarian born architect and designer of furniture Charles Gray, English actor Hughie Green, Canadian born quiz show host Arthur Greenwood, English Labour politician (ashes and memorial, Bay 17 of the East Boundary Wall)Golders Green Crematorium guide notes Joyce Grenfell, actress and comedian John Gross, writer Irene Handl, actress and comedian Tommy Handley, British comedian"London Tribute to Mr Handley: Crowds at Funeral", The Times, 14 January 1949, p. 4 Robert Harbin, South African born magician and writer Cedric Hardwicke, English actor Jack Hawkins, actor Tubby Hayes, English jazz musician Ian Hendry, actor Patrick Hennessy, Irish Realist Artist Dezo Hoffmann, Slovak photographer of actors and rock stars including the Beatles Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford, British Conservative politician Lady Margaret Huggins and her husband Sir William Huggins, astronomersBrück, M. T. & Elliott, I., "The Family Background of Lady Huggins", Irish Astronomical Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3/Mar, 1992 p. 210 Ralph Ince, American film actor, director and screenwriter Gordon Jackson, actor Alex James, footballer Sid James, South African-born actor, Bless This House and Carry On film series star Sir Geoffrey Alan Jellicoe, architectHal Moggridge: Jellicoe. In: H. C. G. Matthew, Brian Harrison (ed.): Oxford dictionary of national biography. From the earliest times to the year 2000. Vol. 29. Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York 2004, , pp. 921–924. Jimmy Jewel, comedian Yootha Joyce, actress Geoffrey Keen, actor Barbara Keogh, actress Albert William Ketèlbey, English composer, conductor and pianist Johnny Kidd, singer David Kossoff, actor, writer, and campaigner Paul Kossoff, musician (guitarist with Free, among others) Alfred Lawrence, 1st Baron Trevethin, former Lord Chief Justice of England, drowned in fishing accident. Doris Lessing, writer, 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Percy Wyndham Lewis, artist and writer William Howard Livens, military engineer and inventor Wolf Mankowitz, British playwright and screenwriter Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-born British sociologist, founder of the sociology of knowledge Moore Marriott, British comic actor Mary Millar, British actress and singer Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman, Raja of Pudukkottai 1886–1928 Keith Moon, musician (drummer for The Who) Janet Munro, actress, wife of actor Ian Hendry (above) Alexander Murray, 8th Earl of Dunmore, British soldier, politician and VC winner Ivor Novello, actor, writer and lyricistWilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2. McFarland & Company (2016) Seán O'Casey, Irish playwright Joe Orton, playwrightJohn Lahr, Prick Up Your Ears, 1980 Penguin Books edition, Chapter 6, 'The Freaks' Roll-Call', p. 337 Betty Papworth, communist and anti-war activist Val Parnell, impresario Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain Baron Albert Profumo, Barrister Marie Rambert, ballerina and founder of Rambert Dance Company Edith Rosenbaum, First Class survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic William Rust, Communist activist, editor of The Daily Worker"Rust, William Charles", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Ronnie Scott, British jazz musician Phil Seamen, British jazz musician Peter Sellers, actor and comedian Geoffrey Shaw, composer Ella Shields, Music Hall artiste and male impersonator Kathleen Simon, Viscountess Simon, abolitionist Bernard Spilsbury, pathologist Bram Stoker, Irish writer (Dracula) John Stride, actor Mollie Sugden, actress, best known for Are You Being Served? A. J. P. Taylor, historian Sir Mowbray Thomson, K.C.S.I, British East India Company general and author Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet, surgeon and founder of the Cremation Society of England Karl Tunberg, American screenwriter, author and film producer; past-president WGA, West (US) Tommy Vance, British broadcaster Conrad Veidt, German actor, following cremation in the US Vesta Victoria, music hall performer Dame Barbara Windsor, Carry On film series, EastEnders actress Bernie Winters, comedian Victoria Wood, British comedian Maurice Woodruff, English clairvoyant, following cremation in Singapore