West Norwood Cemetery dates back to the mid 1800's when the land was purchased by the South Metropolitan Cemetery Company to ease the overcrowding of London's burial grounds. The cemetery included two chapels with a series of vaults or catacombs constructed beneath the 'Episcopal Chapel' which included a hydraulic coffin lift to transport the coffins from the chapel to the vaults below.
The chapel above the catacombes was severly damaged during WW2 and was demolished in the 1950's leaving the catacombes still intact below ground which houses over 2500 coffins.
The London Borough of Lambeth bought the Cemetery in 1966 and is still a place of burials and some amazing tombs and gravestones still survive and have been listed thanks to the hard work of the friends of West Norwood Cemetery: http://www.fownc.org/
The catacombes are secure and only visitable via prior arrangement after becoming a friend.
