Nunhead Cemetery in
south-east London is one
of seven great Victorian cemeteries established
around the city's outskirts
in the 19th century.
There is a wide selection
of monuments covering
the changing taste since
1840, including a design
based on the mausoleum
of Payava of Xanthos to shipowner John Allan,
and a brick built mausoleum
with Romanesque-style decoration to the Stearns
family.
These monuments were dedicated to local men who contributed a great deal
through business.
Sir Charles Fox, for instance
was the engineer who made Paxton's Crystal Palace
fantasy a reality, and
Thomas Tilling introduced

the first horsedrawn omnibus
to London.
Of particular interest is the Scottish Political Martyrs monument: made of solid
granite; the five sided obelisk
is 10 metres high and commemorates five political reformers who were
transported to Australia
for seven years in 1793
for advocating parliamentary reform by giving working men voting rights.
Nunhead Cemetery also has
a great deal to offer the
nature lover, and the outer
part of the cemetery is a conservation area.
Visitors walking to the top
of the hill can as in 1840
once again see the city of
London and St Paul's Cathedral.
The cemetery is owned by
the London Borough
of Southwark.