Churchyard of All Saints, Upper Norwood, London
Visited January 2021
The church of All Saints in Upper Norwood is in what would have once been very leafy suburb indeed, between two remnants of the Great North Wood, Beaulieu Heights and Spa Wood. The churchyard is small, and right on a busy street corner, but it's retained it's country feel and has some aged yew trees in it. The church was built in the 1820s as a Chapel of Ease to Croydon Parish Church, and was substantially rebuilt after bombing in World War II.
The most famous memorial there for Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy - he was Captain of HMS Beagle for Darwin's voyage, Governer of New Zealand in the 1840s, and first head of the Meterological Office. He is remembered in many place names around the world, and in 2002 the Finisterre area of the Shipping Foreca st was renamed FitzRoy in his honour.
The rest of the churchyard contains a number of well preserved Victorian memorials, and retains much of the layout shown in 1860s maps. There is also a plaque dated 2019 (but laid in 2020) which commemorates 889 pauper children who were buried here in unmarked graves from 1830 to 1858. These were all children from 'Mr Aubin's School', an industrial workhouse in Crystal Palace
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| Memorial plaque on grave of Vice Admiral Fitzroy |
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| Gravestone of Vice Admiral Fitzroy |
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