Mortlake Crematorium

Mortlake Crematorium
General information
Type Crematorium
Location

Kew Meadow Path,
Townmead Road,
Richmond,
TW9 4EN
United Kingdom

Area: Kew, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames[1]
Construction started 1936
Completed 1939
Opening 1939
Cost £27,000[2]
Owner London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames
Management Mortlake Crematorium Board
Design and construction
Architect Douglas Barton[2]
Developer Hammersmith Metropolitan Borough Council
Website
www.mortlakecrematorium.org
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name Mortlake Crematorium
Designated 5 May 2011
Reference no. 1400834

Mortlake Crematorium is a crematorium in Kew,[1] near its boundary with Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It opened in 1939, next to Mortlake Cemetery.

The crematorium serves the boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames in the west and south-west of London. It is managed by a board made up of three elected councillors from each of these four boroughs.[2]

Citing it as "a rare example" of Art Deco design in the borough, Richmond upon Thames Council has described it as "a building of exceptional quality and character".[3] Environmentalist Colin Hines describes it as "probably the most undiscovered deco treasure in London".[4] Hilary Grainger, writing in Encyclopedia of Cremation, describes the architectural style as Italianate and the building as having "beautiful cloisters with discrete brick detailing".[5] It has been a Grade II listed building since 2011, being assessed by Historic England as having "a distinctive Art Deco design that survives little altered in a compact and practical composition".[6]

Location

The crematorium is on Kew Meadow Path, Townsmead Road,[7] Kew.[1] It is situated on the banks of the River Thames by Chiswick Bridge and in Clifford Avenue, adjoining Mortlake Cemetery (Hammersmith New Cemetery) in the angle of Mortlake Road (which forms part of the A205, the South Circular Road) and the A316 road.[8] The nearest London Underground station is Kew Gardens. The nearest National Rail stations are Kew Gardens (for London Overground trains) and Mortlake.

History

Mortlake Crematorium was built on the site of Pink's Farm, which had belonged to Richard Atwood, whose family were prominent market gardeners in the area.[9]

It was licensed in 1936 under the Mortlake Crematorium Act 1936, thereby becoming the first to be established under its own Act of Parliament.[2] Designed by Douglas Barton,[6] borough surveyor to Hammersmith Metropolitan Borough Council,[6] the building was constructed in three years at a cost of £27,000.[2] It was also equipped with a Garden of Remembrance for the burial or scattering of ashes, and also offered panels and niches in which ashes could be deposited. When the facility was finally opened in January 1939 by Lord Horder, the then Physician to the King, he said: "You seem to have eliminated the sombreness of atmosphere which sometimes shrouds buildings such as these".[2][4] After that, there was very little change in Mortlake Crematorium's outward appearance until 1982, when Colin Gilbert, an architect from Ealing, designed additional gardens between the crematorium and the River Thames.[2]

Notable cremations

Only people who are sufficiently notable to have individual entries on Wikipedia have been included in the list and, in each instance, their cremation at Mortlake has been verified by citations.

Among those cremated here were:

Seventy-seven Commonwealth servicemen of World War II were cremated here and their names are listed on a screen wall memorial erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the adjoining Mortlake Cemetery (Hammersmith New Cemetery).[8] They include England rugby international Vivian Davies (1899–1941), who was a Captain in the Royal Artillery.[28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kew Village Plan Consultation Boards" (PDF). Village Plans. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. p. 9. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "History and the board". Mortlake Crematorium. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Cabinet Member For Environment And Planning. Report of: Assistant Director Environment Planning & Review. Subject: Buildings of Townscape Merit". London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 Colin Hines (2003). Decover & Out: Mortlake Crematorium. Art Deco London. Twickenham, London: Park House Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-9544751-0-0.
  5. ↑ Hilary Grainger. "Cloisters" in Lewis H Mates; Douglas J Davies (editors). Encyclopedia of Cremation. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-3773-8.
  6. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Mortlake Crematorium (1400834)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Contact". Mortlake Crematorium. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Cemetery details: Mortlake Crematorium". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  9. ↑ David Blomfield (1994). Kew Past. Phillimore & Co Ltd. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0-85033-923-5.
  10. ↑ "Tarka Cordell's funeral". The Daily Telegraph. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Amy Dyduch (8 June 2014). "Mortlake Crematorium marks 75 years". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Transitions". The Advocate. Here Media (681): 19. 16 May 1995. ISSN 0001-8996.
  13. ↑ Roger Lewis (2002). Charles Hawtrey 1914–1988: The Man Who Was Private Widdle. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0571210893.
  14. ↑ C E Hubbard (November 1975). "John Hutchinson. 7 April 1884 – 2 September 1972". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 21: 345–365. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1975.0009. JSTOR 769686.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mortlake Crematorium" (PDF). On Kew. Spring 2006.
  16. ↑ David Cesarani (1988). Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind. ISBN 0-684-86720-6.
  17. ↑ Iain Stewart. "Grave location for holders of the Victoria Cross in Surrey". www.victoriacross.org.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  18. ↑ Steve Williams. "A Titanic Connection: Second Officer Charles Lightoller 1874 – 1952". Brindle Historical Society. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Poignant farewell to Price". BBC News. 8 May 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  20. ↑ Calum McDonald and Karen Bale (4 December 2003). "Top Scots actor dies on stage: Gordon has heart attack". Daily Record (Scotland), republished by The Free Library. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Notable dead at Mortlake" (PDF). Mortlake Crematorium. 14 December 2008.
  22. ↑ Amy Dyduch (17 April 2013). "Margaret Thatcher supporters line streets of Mortlake". Richmond and Twickenham Times. London. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  23. ↑ Hugo Gye (17 April 2013). "The Iron Lady's final journey: Baroness Thatcher's coffin taken for private cremation before she is laid to rest alongside Denis". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  24. ↑ Andrew Murray Scott (2012). Alexander Trocchi: The Making of the Monster (Second edition, revised and expanded. ed.). Edinburgh: Polygon. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-84921-072-0.
  25. ↑ "Cremation Writes Finis To Dr. Ward's Sordid Career After Suicide Verdict". St. Petersburg Times. 9 August 1963. pp. 3–A. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  26. ↑ Ephraim Hardcastle (18 September 2009). "Keith Waterhouse chose the hymns". Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  27. ↑ Ben Weich (30 April 2016). "Oscar-winning special effects guru and East Sheen native Kit West dies aged 80". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Davies, Vivian Gordon". Casualty details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2014.

Coordinates: 51°28′22″N 0°16′25″W / 51.4728°N 0.2735°W / 51.4728; -0.2735

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