Mill Hill Cemetery

Originally called Paddington New Cemetery the name was changed when the council re-acquired it in the early 1990s.  The cemetery formerly managed by Paddington Borough Council, became the responsibility of the City of Westminster following the local government reorganisation in 1965.

One of its many attributes is the wildflower meadow which has been created on unused burial land. This area helps to enhance the rural feel of this cemetery located as it is on the fringes of London.

Disability Discrimination Act

There are disabled toilets to the north of the chapel which are signposted. The chapel itself is accessible via a movable ramp.

History

In 1923 the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington resolved to acquire land for a new cemetery as its cemetery in Willesden Lane NW2 was rapidly becoming filled. Advertisements were not placed until 1929, seeking offers of land which had to be within 8 miles of Paddington Town Hall.

The borough council appointed Mr. E. E. Lofting as architect in 1933 and the 26 acres that became the New Paddington Cemetery were opened in 1936.

The cemetery committee approved the estimated costs of £5,945 for the chapel. Internally the apse and the altar were to be capable of screening off with curtains to enable the chapel to be used for non denominational services.

The foundation stone for the brick chapel was laid on 27 October 1936. The chapel came into use in May 1937 when the apse of the chapel and part of the burial land were consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Lord Bishop of Kensington. The first private burial took place on 22 February 1938.

Commonwealth War Graves

The War Graves plot below the chapel surrounded by a clipped yew hedge is administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The plot is to be found next to a Royal British Legion war memorial. There are also a number of war graves elsewhere within the cemetery.

Netherlands Field of Honour

After World War II this small plot of land (approx. ½ acre) in the north of the cemetery was given by the Borough of Paddington to the Netherlands War Graves Commission to form the Dutch National War Memorial in Great Britain. It contains the graves of 254 Dutch naval serviceman and women killed during World War II. There are also 180 other names commemorated on the larger memorial stones. The central memorial consists of a bronze figure of a dying man by Von Kralingen. The plot was opened on 12 May 1965 by H. H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in the presence of H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester. In April 1972 Queen Juliana visited the site. 

Civilian Memorials to the people of Paddington and Hendon

In the southern part of the cemetery are the civilian memorials to the people of Paddington (68 residents) and Hendon (14 residents killed during World War II

There is a communal grave in the south-west side of the cemetery which contains the remains of those people who were interred in the grave yard of St. Mary's Paddington Green when it was cleared for the construction of the Marylebone Flyover and the Westway (A40). The area is surrounded by a mixed species hedge and will have a memorial stone and is intended as a quiet area where people will be able to go and sit.

Famous names / memorials of special interest: