Plaque

Holy Trinity Brompton churchyard arch - Crosse

Inscription

The Rowan tree nearby was planted in memory of Mathew Crosse, Lt. Cdr. RNVR who loved these gardens, 1914 - 1977.

We saw no tree on the site that looked anything like a Rowan tree.

Site: Holy Trinity Brompton churchyard arch - Cross (1 memorial)

SW7, Ennismore Garden Mews, Brompton Oratory Garden

Our photo shows the arch from the south. Below the statue of a saint (almost certainly) the carved inscription reads "The Lord hath quickened me" (Ephesians 2:1–7). On the other side of the arch, below a statue of another saint (almost certainly) the carved inscription reads "Oh, enter into His gates with thanksgiving" (Psalm 100:4 King James Version), and lower down "Brompton Church" is inscribed. 

This garden was originally the churchyard for Holy Trinity Church Brompton which opened in 1829. It is said to have been the last churchyard provided adjacent to a church in central London, and was closed by 1854. In 1881 this gateway was designed by H. D. Shepard, an independent architect, assisting Arthur Blomfield in a project to enlarge/improve the church. The gateway, in Dumfries stone, was first erected at the south end of the avenue facing Brompton Road but was moved, 1908, to its current location.

We wanted to understand where the gateway was initially and why it was moved, so we checked maps from 1893 before the move, and 1914 after the move. The 1893 maps shows something which must have been this gateway and some walling right on Brompton Road, about where the statue 'The Return of the Prodigal' by Charlie Mackesy' is now. It must have been the other way around with the "Brompton Church" facing the pavement. The maps show no clear reason for its repositioning.

c.1954 most of the gravestones were removed , the dead reinterred at Brookwood Cemetery and the space opened as a park.

Information mainly from British History Online.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Holy Trinity Brompton churchyard arch - Crosse

Subjects commemorated i

Mathew Crosse

Mathew Crosse, Lt. Cdr. Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Stationers' War Memorial

Stationers' War Memorial

EC4, Stationers’ Hall Court

A beautiful, hand-crafted plaque - not just the frame, the gold lettering has some lovely touches - see the "LO" of "glory" and the way t...

War dead | WW1
9 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
4 - St Dunstan’s Court – Space Invaders

4 - St Dunstan’s Court – Space Invaders

EC4, Fleet Street

Seems very odd for the chosen illustration to be of a computer game.

2 subjects commemorated
Cross Bones Graveyard

Cross Bones Graveyard

SE1, Redcross Way

This graveyard has a website all its own and the colourful crowd-sourced memorials attached to the railings are a splendid commemoration ...

1 subject commemorated
Herman Wallace

Herman Wallace

SW7, Kensington Gore, Royal Geographic Society

This tile is about 4" square. It has been guerrilla-stuck to the wall just above the white 1911 City of Westminster mile marker, which c...

1 subject commemorated
Welsh Church - Peters

Welsh Church - Peters

W1, Eastcastle Street, 30

Each of these foundation stones is at the base of a pillar, reading left to right: Peters, Rowlands, Lewis, Taylor. Disappointingly we h...

1 subject commemorated