Our Mission: aims and objectives
- To promote the preservation, care and improvement of Streatham Cemetery as a burial ground and as a place of historical and ecological interest and beauty.
- To secure public access to, and enjoyment of, the Cemetery
- To encourage responsible and respectful use of the cemetery and its environs
- To conserve and improve the biodiversity of the Cemetery, its natural plant, animal and bird life.
- To speak and act on behalf of all who care for Streatham Cemetery including those who own a grave in the Cemetery or cherish the memory of one buried there.
- With the support of relevant organisations, to conserve the Cemetery chapel(s) by appropriate and reasonable schemes of repair. These structures to be rehabilitated for the benefit of present future generations by devising appropriate and responsible conservation-led approaches to repair and reuse.
- To work in a sustainable way using environmentally friendly materials and systems.
- Any work undertaken to the cemetery, its built structures and environs to be a teaching and re-skilling resource for children, students and people of all ages, in subjects such as building surveying, building conservation, biodiversity and the imaginative management of cemeteries.
- To encourage local involvement from individuals, groups, councillors and officers from both Lambeth and Wandsworth Council.
- To act as a mechanism for improved co-ordination, consultation, planning and participation within the area of the cemetery.
- To work with statutory and other bodies to influence plans and proposals for the cemetery or plans affecting the cemetery, its buildings and its setting.
- To ensure the views of the cemetery users are effectively represented to the local authority and other bodies.
- To liaise with Lambeth Council in working out and putting into effect plans for the future of the Cemetery.
- To forge links with individuals and groups in the locality and look for opportunities for partnership.
- To undertake initiatives and projects jointly with other local organisations
- To promote research into subjects directly connected to the objects of the Friends and to make publicly accessible the results of that research.
- To monitor planning developments in the area and comment where appropriate.
- To hold meetings, open days, educational workshops and exhibitions.
- To publish and distribute leaflets, posters, reports and literature.
- To make surveys and prepare maps and plans and collect information and advice.
- To raise funds to support the Friends Programme of activities.
- To do all such other things as are necessary for the attainment of the said aims.
Recent History
The Friends of Streatham Cemetery was set up in 2009. At that time, the Broadwater Gate had been damaged and was permanently chained shut. The eastern chapel was derelict with a broken roof and had an abandoned vehicle inside. Many Victorian headstones had fallen over or been broken. The cemetery had become a forgotten and hidden place and, with so few visitors, did not feel particularly safe.
More encouragingly, nature thrived with many nesting birds and an ever changing carpet of wild flowers and grasses to be seen. The Friends hoped to restore pedestrian access to the cemetery and increase biodiversity to make the cemetery a more attractive place for both people and wildlife to enjoy.
Working with Lambeth Council who own the site, initial successes were planting fruit trees and constructing an apiary at the highest point in the cemetery. Honeybees have been kept here since Spring 2011. Plans for a community orchard had to be balanced with the ambitions of a working cemetery where space is now very limited but notable improvements have been the repair of Broadwater Gate and the once derelict eastern chapel, now an office for Lambeth Bereavement Services. Information boards about history and wildlife were unveiled in 2019.
The recent ‘lockdowns’ of the Covid pandemic saw the cemetery regularly used and enjoyed by the community. The popularity and appreciation of the cemetery now feels assured.
The Friends are continuing to celebrate the nature and history of the cemetery as well planting bulbs and improving the Broadwater Gate entrance. Look at the What’s On section for the latest events. A continuing ambition is to see the adjacent sites of Springfield Hospital and Fishponds Playing Field connected with the cemetery to form a lengthy ‘green lane’ for further travel and enjoyment.
Forever Fishponds
While there are no immediate plans to breach the wall between the cemetery and Fishponds Playing Field, this local group is working hard to make the neighbouring site a flourishing green community space in the heart of Tooting. Much improved public access, regular fitness classes and an attractive wildlife area are successes to date. Visit the ffishponds Instagram pages to see what's happening.
Geoff Simmons and the Mayor of Wandsworth unveil an information board about Streatham Cemetery in July 2019.
One day we hope to see a ‘green lane’ linking Streatham Cemetery to the adjacent green spaces of Springfield Hospital and Fishponds Field.
