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While the Blitz during the Second World War left visible scars on Tower Hamlets Cemetery—including shrapnel damage to numerous monuments and significant damage to the two chapels which were subsequently demolished —the most profound and lasting impact came later, through long-term financial decline and neglect.
From around 1900 onwards, the cemetery’s management company struggles to maintain the site were documented. Complaints appeared regularly in local newspapers, with conditions frequently described as ‘deplorable’ and, towards the end of the functioning of the cemetery management company issues of vandalism, fly-tipping, and general disrepair became more frequent.
By 1965, the cemetery company’s finances were no longer viable, and the cemetery was formally closed to new burials in 1966. By that time, the Greater London Council, or GLC, bought the site and it closed down as a cemetery. It was given permission to turn into a public park by an Act of Parliament.
The site seemed ripe for sensitive change, yet the Act of Parliament which provided for conversion into a public space also allowed for the demolition and removal of any or all gravestones, buildings, and other monuments within its grounds as the legislation callously decrees, ‘no part thereof had ever been used [for the] burial of human remains.’ It seems that the interpretation of creating a ‘public park’ was very much around a traditional lawn space, removing headstones and monuments.
The GLC very quickly set about clearing several acres of gravestones and demolishing most of the buildings onsite, including the two chapels. Much of this clearance occurred around the southern areas of the cemetery.
However, growing anger and pressure from local residents, with increased protests, led to a pause on this work, as did budget constraints.
A growing awareness among local residents of the cemetery’s special character—its mature trees, tombs, and historical landscape—sparked a strong campaign to preserve it.
Community protest, local organising and heritage activism played a central role in resisting total clearance. Many of the founding members of the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park and more were involved in these efforts, and we remain deeply grateful for their vision and commitment.
For a number of years, the cemetery-park was considered by some to be in limbo – losing its lustre as an increasingly decaying former ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemetery, but falling short of a traditional public park amenity.
Following the abolition of the GLC in 1986, ownership of the cemetery park passed to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Arrangements for the cemetery park‘s management, initially informal and formalised through the Friends in the 1990s have sought to preserve both its conservation and heritage value.
In 1987, it was designated a Conservation Area, acknowledging its historical and environmental significance. Further recognition came in 1993, when it was formally declared a cemetery park, reflecting its dual identity as both a reflective heritage site and a space for public enjoyment and ecological engagement.
That same year, the Soanes Field Centre opened in newly built premises near the entrance, providing a base for education, community activity and environmental programming delivered by the Friends.
This marked the beginning of a new phase for the cemetery park—a transformation into a place that is now nationally recognised for its unique combination of cultural heritage, biodiversity, and community-driven stewardship.