London's Necropolis

"In the mid-nineteenth century the volume of London's dead was causing considerable public concern. So in 1850 the idea of a great metropolitan cemetery, situated in the suburbs and large enough to contain all of London's dead for an indefinite period, was promoted. The outcome was Brookwood Cemetery, the largest burial ground in the world when it was opened in 1854 by the London Necropolis & Mausoleum Company." "Designed on a massive scale with avenuews of sequoia, its own private railway and majestic planting, Brookwood now contains about 240,000 burials. The cemetery is still privately owned and administered, and a recent Home Office report suggests that it has the potential to become a World Heritage Site." "London's Necropolis is a guide to the art and architecture of Brookwood, and also includes brief biographies of over 800 individuals of interest who have been buried there, reflecting all levels of a lost society and representing most countries of the world. Each chapter is supported by maps, and there are about 100 black and white photographs to illustrate some of the most interesting memorials and cemetery buildings."--Jacket.