Opened in 1840, Nunhead is one of London’s most important Victorian cemeteries. It manages to combine plenty of historical as well as wildlife interest whilst maintaining its own unique character. It is the nearest large area of woodland and scrub to south-central London, and is an outstanding site for this location. The cemetery was reopened in May 2001 after an extensive restoration project funded by Southwark Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. A Local Nature Reserve, the cemetery is managed in partnership with the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery. The Friends conduct a guided tour of the cemetery on the last Sunday of the month at 2 pm, starting from the Linden Grove gates, though times are subject to change. Nunhead Cemetery is a Grade II* listed landscape.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Nunhead Cemetery
Borough: Southwark
Grade: Metropolitan
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 20.23 ha
Description
Wildlife
It consists largely of ash and sycamore woodland, natural in structure and growing amongst gravestones and some magnificent monuments. Many remnants of the original Victorian tree plantings do still remain, including mature horse chestnut, holm oak, turkey oak and pedunculate oak. There is also a well-developed shrub layer with native and non-native shrubs. The ground flora is limited in dense shade but in opens areas along rides and in proximity to the spring-fed pond, a wide range of herbs are present including most notably yellow loosestrife, agrimony, old man's beard, false wood-broom, cowslip, reed sweet grass and meadowsweet. The site has a good list of breeding woodland birds, including chiffchaff, blackcap, great spotted woodpecker, tawny owl, sparrowhawk, jay and at least 60 pairs of wrens. The uncommon white-letter hairstreak is amongst the 16 species of butterfly found in the cemetery. Others include speckled wood, orange-tip and brimstone. It is highly likely that foraging and roosting bats also occur here.Facilities
Information (on signs); sculptures/ monuments
No photo yet available for this site
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