HIGHGATE CEMETERY - The 20th Century

By the turn of the century the desire for great elaborate funerals was waning and families began to choose less ostentatious memorials than in previous decades. At the outbreak of the Great War, many of the cemetery’s gardeners and grounds men were called up to fight. Despite this diminished workforce, the grounds continued to be smart in appearance, held under the strict authority of the superintendent.

Although some wealthy families continued to purchase rights of burial during the 1930s, Highgate Cemetery was passing into a long, slow, terminal decline. Greater and greater numbers of graves became abandoned and maintenance became minimal. The chapels were closed in 1956. In 1960 the London Cemetery Company, facing bankruptcy, was absorbed into the larger United Cemetery Company, which struggled to keep the cemetery afloat until funds ran out in 1975.

In the same year, The Friends of Highgate Cemetery was launched to secure access to the cemetery for public benefit and future generations. Over the last 30 years much restoration and conservation work has been carried out on buildings, boundary walls, architectural features and the landscape. Several features and monuments have been listed as of special importance by English Heritage.

Extensive work has been carried out on the chapels, which lay derelict until 1985. The Egyptian Avenue and Circle of Lebanon have been conserved and the exterior of the Terrace Catacomb has been restored. Several monuments, including the massive Beer mausoleum, have also had expert attention. The grounds of the cemetery, which had become an overgrown wilderness have had extensive, but sensitive, clearing.

The National Lottery and English Heritage have given considerable advice and help.

Recently the cemetery was proud to become listed as a Grade 1 park by English Heritage.