One of the seven great Victorian cemeteries established in a ring around the outskirts of London, Nunhead Cemetery contains examples of the magnificent monuments erected in memory of the most eminent citizens of the day. Its formal avenue of towering limes and the Gothic gloom of the original Victorian planting gives way to paths which recall the country lanes of a bygone era.
This website is owned and operated by the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery (FONC). FONC exists to represent all those with an interest in the cemetery. If you are interested in helping with the practical work we do, or the tours, Open Day and other events, please join us.
What’s happening
Latest news and events at Nunhead Cemetery
Join FONC on a Fungi Foray led by mycologist Clifford Davy
Annual Nunhead Cemetery Open Day
Save the date! The 2027 Annual Nunhead Cemetery Open Day will take place on SATURDAY 15 MAY from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Further details will be posted in due course!
Podcasts & Videos: 17 September 2026
Poet Jenny Mitchell recites two poems which are evocative of people buried in the cemetery and members from the Nunhead Green community centre’s Ivy Club speak about their memories of the cemetery. The film is part of the wider reinterpretation of Nunhead Cemetery that FONC and Southwark Council, as part of the East Lodge project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, are working on with consultants Narrative by Design.
FONC News: 29 August 2026
Memorial repairs on Main Avenue
The latest tranche of monument repairs at Nunhead are well underway. These repairs concentrate on the first two rows of monuments on the west side of the Main Avenue exposed by recent monument recording clearances
FONC's Monument Inscriptions Team has recorded thousands of monuments since the 1970s, and you can now search the inscriptions on our website.
A wide selection of publications—books and leaflets—have been produced by the Friends, covering a range of different topics relevant to Nunhead Cemetery: history of the cemetery; notable people buried in the cemetery; flora & fauna; cemetery guides; other local cemetery guides; souvenirs.
Explore the Cemetery
Find out more about Nunhead Cemetery
Although all 270,000 people laid to rest in the cemetery should be remembered, it is worth…
The cemetery of All Saints, Nunhead, when opened in July 1840 was a spacious burial ground…
The two neo-classical gate lodges at the Linden Grove entrance, and the stabilised ruin of…
The cemetery is now a designated nature reserve but the wide assortment of flora in…