Heart of the Cemetery: conservation through conversation and reflection

Our Recent Achievements

Since the formation of the FoTHCP in 1990,the Cemetery Park has been transformed from a space that had essentially been ‘rewilded through neglect’ in the period from the cemetery being deconsecrated in the 1960s, through to local authority plans to raze the site into a conventional park, and inaction thereafter. The work of the charity has secured and protected the space through its status as a Local Nature Reserve and Metro Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, and more than that has been a haven for visitors and volunteers.

In 2025 we were delighted to receive the Green Flag Award for the 13th consecutive year. The panel summed up our achievements as follows:

"The Local Nature Reserve is extremely well run and has achieved a great deal since the FoTHCP was established in 1990. Much of the restoration of the historic landscape and funeral structures has been planned and is taking place on a gradual basis, as funds permit. This damage dates largely from the period of neglect before the FoTHCP took over responsibility. The work on biodiversity similarly is excellent… The Trustees, staff and volunteers are all to be commended for the excellent work that has been done and the proposed plans to extend the LNR area and further develop the historic and biodiversity potential." 

Our Challenges

FoTHCP is a truly special place-a nature reserve, a historic cemetery, and a public park for the community - all within one site. As we move towards our 40th year, we're proud of our accomplishments, but we're also focused on identifying and addressing the pressures our community faces, as well as the additional and unique challenges we see given our history and heritage. Scarcity of green space, climate change and global warming all impact our site and are foundational concerns. We are also conscious of the gradual erosion of physical heritage and the evolving relevancy of cultural heritage.

Perhaps most visible is the Bow Gasworks residential housing development on the southern edge of the Cemetery Park, and the impacts of increased footfall, shading and artificial light on conservation and nature efforts. To prepare for increased visitors, we have developed environmental mitigation plans to protect biodiversity and accommodate more foot traffic. These plans are part of our 2022 Conservation Management Plan (attached) , which balances nature, heritage, and community into the future. That said, we are acutely aware that the location of the development means that the cemetery park will increasingly be used as a commuter route.

Our Solution

As part of both our Conservation Management Plan and the Environmental Mitigation Plan around the Bow Gasworks development, we are committed to uncovering and interpreting parts of Tower Hamlets Cemetery that run the risk of being overlooked, particularly as visitors become commuters.

In particular, we want to commemorate the space identified in our Plan as the potential ‘Heart of the Cemetery.’ This would have been the historical centre of the space as the site of the Church of England Chapel (demolished post-WW2 damage) which stood in an area we now call Memorial Glade. This was an architecturally significant building where thousands of funeral services were carried out, and below which many people were buried in catacombs. It carried great heritage significance for the site, but was unfortunately demolished in 1967 by the Greater London Council.

At the start of our journey as a nature reserve, we turned this space into a central seeded wildflower meadow, introducing biodiversity into the space alongside the naturally seeded woodlands and historic garden-cemetery planting. 

Now, with the challenges and opportunities of increased footfall (in particular commuter traffic) from new housing developments), we aim to reconsider how the ‘Heart of the Cemetery’ can be recognised, demarcated and celebrated  in a way that honours its history, increases biodiversity, and meets the needs and interests of our diverse community. We want to retain a space for pause and reflection, and attract curiosity into the site and the work of the FoTHCP.

Through this project, we will seek to adopt new infrastructure (planting, structure, benches)that commemorates the history of the chapel and a central focus for the wider cemetery park. We envision a welcoming, flexible space designed for community use, embedding nature and conservation throughout and inviting space for pause and reflection. We expect to engage the community and stakeholders on design ideas and interpretation of these proposals.