I visited Nunhead Cemetery several years ago, as part of my ‘Magnificent Seven’ tour, and recently went back while I was completing the Green Chain walk. This reminded me that I never did visit the crypt, and after checking the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery website I found out that Crypt & Chapel tours ran on certain dates. I therefore resolved to pop down and attend one.
The crypt is located beneath the chapel. At one time it was considered the most prestigious place to be buried, and the most expensive. Those buried here had their own space with a metal plaque to identify them. Mourners could come down to the crypt (there is evidence of heating pipes and a space for a gas lamp) to view their loved one’s final resting place; there are two spaces either side of the main area which could have been used as waiting areas. The architecture is simple but impressive, and I imagine this could once have been quite a grand space.
Sadly, when the cemetery went out of business, the chapel burnt down due to arson and the crypt was vulnerable to the elements. It was also broken into, and thieves opened and ransacked the coffins in search of valuables, dispersing the bodies around the crypt in the process. Some years ago, there was an attempt to put the pieces back together, and the remains are now in some sort of order, but it’s no longer possible to identify which body belongs to which named individual, which seems sad. The spaces for the coffins are covered with basic wood plaques, and the atmosphere as a whole is rather damp and dingy. Personally I feel that those who chose burial in the cemetery itself, with an elaborate headstone, made the better choice – even the weathered and damaged monuments have a kind of grandeur about them.
The ruined Anglican chapel, on the other hand, has a rather pleasant feel about it. The arson attack which made it into a shell is undoubtedly a shame, but the chapel is now open to the air, and is rather nice. You can still see the marks on the wall where the pews used to stand. Some of the wall decorations are rather fragile, but overall the chapel seems to be standing up pretty well.