History
The cemetery was opened as part of an initiative in the mid-
19th century to provide seven large, modern cemeteries (sometimes called the '
Magnificent Seven') in a ring round the outside of
London of which
Highgate Cemetery was another example. The inner-city cemeteries, mostly the graveyards attached to individual churches, had long been unable to cope with the number of burials and were seen as a hazard to health and an undignified way to treat the dead.
Brompton Cemetery was designed by
Benjamin Baud and has at its centre a modest domed chapel (in the style of the basilica of St. Peter's in Rome), reached by long colonnades, and flanked by catacombs. The chapel is dated 1839.
.
Nutkins gravestone
Beatrix Potter who lived in
The Boltons nearby, took the names of many of her animal characters from tombstones in the cemetery and it is said that Mr McGregor's walled garden was based on the colonnades. Names on headstones included Mr Nutkins, Mr McGregor, a Tod (with that unusual single 'd' spelling), Jeremiah Fisher, Tommy Brock - and even a Peter Rabbett.