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monuments at kensal green


The General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, boasts one of the finest collection of funerary monuments in the world, with over 130 already Grade II* or Grade II Listed in the national registry of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. A great many more also mark the graves of notable personalities, or appeal as sculpture in their own right. The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery are regularly involved in the restoration and conservation of monuments throughout the cemetery.

Motifs


Broken column: symbol of a life cut short, or the loss of the head of the family

  

Royalty & Aristocracy

Duke of Sussex
HRH Augustus Frederick Duke of Sussex (1773-1843)
Cecilia Letitia, Duchess of Inverness (1793-1873)

  

Science & Engineering


Charles Babbage
(1791-1871)
Mathematician, pioneer of computing

  

Kensal Green Founders


George Frederick Carden
(1798-1874)
Barrister, founder of Kensal Green



Veiled urn: an allusion to the veneration of cremated remains in ancient Rome
 
HRH Princess Sophia
HRH Princess Sophia
(1777-1848) 		 



Sir Marc Isambard Brunel
(1769-1849)
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
(1806-1859)
Engineers

  

Sir John Dean Paul
1st Baronet
(d. 1852)
Banker, principal financial backer of the nascent General Cemetery Company



Downturned torches or flambeaux, symbol of life being extinguished

  
HRH Duke of Cambridge
HRH George William Frederick Charles
Duke of Cambridge KG
(1819-1904)
Sarah Louisa Fairbrother
('Mrs. Fitzgeorge')
(1816-1890) 		 

Joseph Locke, FRS
(1805-1860)
Civil engineer		  



Charles Broughton Bowman
(d. c1840)
First secretary of the General Cemetery Company, Kensal Green



IHS (Christogram, a monogram or abbreviation for the name of Jesus, in Greek characters) and grapes, both ancient Christian symbols 		 

William John Cavendish-Bentinck-Scott
5th Duke of Portland
(1800-1879)		  

John Robinson McClean
FRS PICE FGS FRAS
(1813-1873)
Civil engineer
Francis William (Frank) McClean
FRS MA LLD FRAS MICE
(1837-1904)
Astronomer 		 

Robert William Sievier, FRS
(1794-1865)
Sculptor & early member of the Board:
monument by Sievier to his parents



Beehive, symbol variously of community, teamwork, industry, perseverance and selflessness; also of purity and chastity, and ultimately (on account of the hive's annual hibernation) of rebirth and resurrection

  

George Augustus Frederick Percy Sydney Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford, Second Baron Penshurst (1818-1857)
Percy Ellen Algernon Frederick William Sydney Smythe, 8th Viscount Strangford (1825-1869)
Emily Ann Beaufort, Viscountess Strangford (1826-1887)		  

David Napier
(1790-1869)
Marine engineer		  

Andrew Spottiswoode MP
(1786-1866)
Bible publisher & early member of the Board



Bird, a symbol of the soul flying free of the body; the dove, superficially, also represents both peace and the Holy Spirit

  



The Hon. Patrick Bowes-Lyon
(c1863-1946)
Fifth son of the 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn, uncle of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900-2002)

  

Sir John Rennie
(1794-1874)
Civil engineer		  

Henry Edward Kendall
(1776-1875)
Architect, winner of Kensal Green's 100 guinea architectural competition



Clasped hands, symbol of fidelity, loyalty and affection unto death and beyond;this and many other symbols commonly found on funeral monuments also has strong Masonic associations

  

Mary Ann Thurston
(1810-1896)
Nurse to the children of Queen Victoria, memorial designed by HRH Princess Louise 		 



Richard Roberts
(1789-1864)
Mechanical inventor

  

Margaret Gregory
(c1796-1832)
Wife of the scurrilous journalist Barnard Gregory (1796-1852); first funeral conducted in Kensal Green (31 January 1833)
 
Copyright © 2006 The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery • Registered Charity N� 1106549