History

Mortlake Crematorium was a joint municipal venture, undertaken by the Boroughs of Hammersmith, Richmond, Barnes and Acton. The Crematorium lies within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is situated on the banks of the River Thames by Chiswick Bridge and serves the west and south-west of London.

Mortlake Crematorium was licensed in 1936 under the Mortlake Crematorium Act 1936, thereby becoming the first to be established under its own Act of Parliament. The building was designed by Douglas Barton, an employee of the Hammersmith Metropolitan Borough Council. It was constructed in three years at a cost of £27,000. It was equipped with a Garden of Remembrance for the burial or scattering of ashes, and also offered panels and niches in which ashes could be deposited. The facility was finally opened in January 1939 by Lord Horder, the then physician to the King.

Mortlake Crematorium’s outward appearance changed little over the following years. However the grounds, gardens and building have been well kept and maintained.

Grade II Listed Building Status

On 6 May 2011, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames received notice from English Heritage that the Crematorium was formally listed as Grade II under section 1 of the Listed Buildings Act 1990.

The assessment stated:
“Cleverly designed, with a variety of spaces, Mortlake is clearly a very good example of its type. The chapel interior is impressive spatially, and the overall ensemble is virtually unaltered. It is a distinctive Art Deco design that survives little altered in a compact and practical composition.”

Reasons for designation decision
A well-executed and characterful variation on the classic crematorium design
Pleasing elevations and arcaded cloisters
Good quality detailing and interesting planning form
Very little altered since it opened in 1939

The Board

The overall control of the Mortlake Crematorium is vested in 12 elected representatives, three from four London Boroughs – Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames.

The Board meets at least three times a year. The principal officers reporting to the Board are its Clerk, Treasurer and Superintendent.

People of note cremated at Mortlake Crematorium

Over 203,000 cremations have taken place. Among those cremated here are:
Cremations Among those cremated here are:
• Roy Battersby (1936 – 2024) was a British television director
• Trevor Baylis CBE (1937 – 2018) was an English inventor best known for the wind-up radio
• Richard Beckinsale (1947–1979), actor
• Jean Boht (1932-2023), English actress, most famous for the role of Nellie Boswell in sitcom Bread
• Philip Bond (1934-2017), actor
• Peter Bowles (1936 – 2022) was an English television and stage actor.
• Richard Briers (1934 – 2013), actor
• James William Alexander Burnet, aka Sir Alastair Burnet (1928 - 2012), journalist & broadcaster
• Tommy Cooper (1921–1984), comedian and magician
• Tarka Cordell (1966–2008), musician
• Sir Robin Day (1923–2000), political broadcaster and commentator
• Paul Eddington (1927–1995), actor
• Dick Emery (1915–1983), comedian and actor
• Kenny Everett (1944–1995), radio DJ and television entertainer
• Suzan Maxine Farmer (1942–2017) English film and television actress
• Fenella Fielding (1927-2018) English stage, film and television actress
• Liz Fraser (1930-2018) Actress, best known for her comedy roles
• Edd Gould (1988–2012), English animator, voice actor and creator of Eddsworld
• Gudren Henderson Ure (1926-2024), Scottish Actress, best known as Super Gran
• Mona Hammond OBE (1931-2022), Jamaican-British actress, co-founder of Talawa Theatre Co.
• Richard Harris (1930–2002), actor, singer and writer
• Charles Hawtrey (1914–1988), comedy actor
• Russell Hoban (1925–2011), author
• Valerie Hobson (1917–1998), actress
• John Hollins (1946-2023), English football player and manager
• Simon David Hoggart (1946-2014), journalist and broadcaster
• Julian Hosking (1953–1989), ballet dancer
• John Hutchinson (1884–1972), botanist
• George Ian Kenneth “Kenny” Ireland (1945 - 2014), Scottish actor and theatre director
• Deborah James DBE (1981-2022). English journalist, educator, podcast host & charity campaigner
• Derek Jameson (1929 - 2012) tabloid journalist and broadcaster.
• Judith Kerr (1923-2019), author
• Thomas Kingston (1978-2024), British Diplomat, Financier & royal; husband of Lady Gabriella
• Kathy Kirby (1938 – 2011), singer
• Dilys Lane (1934–2009), English Actor and screenwriter, best known for comedy roles.
• James Edgar Leach (1892–1958), Victoria Cross recipient, World War I
• Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015) an English actor, singer, author, and World War II veteran
• Charles Lightoller (1874–1952), second officer of Titanic
• Lord Longford (Frank Pakenham) (1905–2001), politician and social reformer
• Baron Robert Alistair McAlpine (1942-2014) British Businessman
• Kirsty MacColl (1959–2000), singer-songwriter
• Alexander MacQueen (1969-2010) British fashion designer and couturier
• Sir Neville Marriner CH,CBE (1924-2016), English violinist and conductor
• Sir Stirling Moss OBE (1929 – 2020), British Formula 1, racing driver
• Marguerite Patten CBE (1915 – 2015) An English home economist, food writer & broadcaster
• James “Jimmy” Perry OBE (1923-2016), English Actor and Scriptwriter
• John Profumo (1915-2006) British Politician
• Christopher Price (1967–2002), radio and television broadcaster
• Sir Michael Redgrave (1908–1985), actor, author and director
• Gordon Reid (1939–2003), actor
• Prince Alexander Romanov (1929–2002), member of the Russian Imperial Family
• Leonard Rossiter (1926–1984), actor
• Sir Leslie Ronald “Jimmy” Young (1921-2016), English singer & radio personality
• Lord Rothschild (1910–1990), biologist and politician
• Mark Anthony Sheehan (1976–2023) Irish musician, singer (The Script), composer and producer.
• Sir Peter O'Sullevan CBE (1918 – 2015) a British horse racing commentator for the BBC
• Ronald "Ron" Springett (1935 – 2015) goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday, QPR & England
• Gordon “Jazz” Summers (1944 – 2015) British music manager
• Dudley Sutton (1933-2018) An English Actor
• Sylvia May Laura Syms OBE (1934–2023) was an English stage and screen actress.
• Robert Tear CBE (1939–2011) Welsh tenor singer, teacher and conductor
• Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt (1915–2003), businessman and husband of Margaret Thatcher
• Margaret (Lady) Thatcher (1925-2013), Prime Minister 1979-1990
• Frank Thornton (1921- 2013), actor
• Richard Stanley Thorp (1932 – 2013), actor
• Alexander Trocchi (1925–1984), Scottish novelist
• Gianluca Vialli OMRI (1964–2023) Italian football player and manager who played as a striker.
• Nancy Wake (1912 – 2011) British agent during the later part of World War II
• Stephen Ward (1912–1963), one of the central figures in the Profumo affair
• Keith Waterhouse (1929–2009), writer
• Colin Welland (1934–2015), born Colin Edward Williams, was a British actor and screenwriter
• Kit West (1936-2016), British special effects artist (Raiders of the Lost Ark & Return of the Jedi)