Kensal Green Cemetery (General Cemetery of All Souls)

The General Cemetery of All Souls was the first of the eight private garden cemeteries to open, between 1833 and 1845.

Amidst the sprawl of North Kensington lies a 72-acre sanctuary where the grand, the eccentric, and the entirely bizarre rest side by side. Opened in 1833, Kensal Green Cemetery holds the crown as the oldest of London’s 'Magnificent Eight' Victorian burial grounds.

Before its creation, London was facing a macabre crisis: its inner-city parish churchyards were dangerously overflowing, prompting a desperate need for sanitary, suburban alternatives. Inspired by the elegant Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, barrister George Frederick Carden envisioned a secure, picturesque 'garden cemetery' that would double as a public park.

The concept was a roaring success. When Prince Augustus Frederick (a son of King George III) chose to be buried here in 1843, rather than at Windsor, Kensal Green instantly became the most fashionable place in the British Empire to be laid to rest. Wealthy Victorians flocked to outdo one another with towering Gothic monuments, neoclassical columns, and theatrical mausoleums. 

Today, it remains a wildly atmospheric labyrinth of history.

Walking with Keilyn: Kensal Green to Holland Park... and beyond

Sunday March 22, 2026.

Cloudy skies with light winds, brightening in the late morning to hazy sunshine, 13°C (55°F).

It was a cool 4°C (39.2°F), with light mist, as we left our house and began our gentle walk to Watford High Street station, where we boarded a Lioness train, that took us to Kensal Green. Keilyn and I sent a selfie to Dyan, who responded with a photo of Harrow & Wealdstone station. We informed her that we would be passing through in a few minutes and Dyan managed to take a photo of our train approaching, while she waited for the train that would take her to work.  

On leaving Kensal Green station we crossed Harrow Road and entered Kensal Green Cemetery, via its main entrance. Keilyn, always the inquisitive one, wanted to find the graves of Isambard and Marc Brunel, while I was interested in seeing Harold Pinter's grave. So, off we went in search of the graves. 

Kensal Green Cemetery was the first of London's eight garden cemeteries to open, which was back in 1833. It covers an area of 72 acres and has many famous people buried within the grounds. These include Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his son Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, Harold Pinter, Steve Peregrin Took, Wilkie Collins, Prince Augustus Frederick The Duke of Sussex, Erich Fried, Medi Oliver Mehra, Marigold Churchill, Charles Babbage, William Makepeace Thackeray, among countless others.

It didn't take us long to find the grave of Isambard Kingdom and his son Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, before we continued our search for other graves of interest. Peculiarly, the grave of Steven Ross Porter, better known as Steve Peregrin Took (member of the band Tyrannosaurus Rex), was fairly easy to find, while that of Harold Pinter took some searching.

After a good exploration we made our way out onto Ladbroke Grove, heading south. We crossed the Grand Union Canal and continued following Ladbroke Grove, buying hot drinks at an independent coffee shop, called Mowgli Coffee.