© 2010 Paul Wigginton, All Rights Reserved.
Queen Victoria was new to the throne when Arnos Vale Cemetery opened in 1839 as a "garden cemetery."
In the late 1980s, Arnos Vale reached a critical situation also experienced by other old private cemeteries – as burial space ran out, income dwindled, resulting in less money to pay for staff and much reduced maintenance. Many of the once-splendid memorials toppled and the grounds became over-grown as wind-born seeds of ash and sycamore took root, and paths and open spaces became choked with bramble, bindweed and knotweed.
In 1987, alarmed by a press report that the then-owners wanted to clear a large section for commercial development, a group of concerned local people came together to oppose the proposals and win long-term protection for the cemetery as a heritage asset.