Tomb of Philip Nowell, Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1403334
- Date first listed:
- 21-Dec-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Tomb of Philip Nowell, Brompton Cemetery
- Statutory Address:
- Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1403334
- Date first listed:
- 21-Dec-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Tomb of Philip Nowell, Brompton Cemetery
- Statutory Address 1:
- Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
- Statutory Address 2:
- Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
- Statutory Address:
- Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, London, SW10
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Kensington and Chelsea (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ2578477838
Summary
Altar tomb for Philip Nowell and family, 1843.
Reasons for Designation
* Historic interest: commemorates Philip Nowell, the building contractor responsible for the principal structures at the cemetery;
* Design interest: a large and imposing Gothic altar tomb;
* Group value: it is located within the Grade I-registered Brompton Cemetery and has group value with other listed tombs and structures nearby.
History
Philip Nowell (c.1781-1853) was a major London builder, based at Grosvenor Wharf, Pimlico. His firm was among the contractors for the building of Belgravia during the early C19, and was also responsible for the construction of the main buildings and boundary walls at Brompton Cemetery. The present tomb was originally erected following the death in 1842 of his son George; his wife Anne and daughters Mary and Catherine, all of whom predeceased him, are also buried within.
Brompton Cemetery was one of the 'magnificent seven' privately-run burial grounds established in the 1830s and 1840s to relieve pressure on London's overcrowded churchyards. It was laid out in 1839-1844 to designs by the architect Benjamin B Baud, who devised a classical landscape of axial drives and vistas with rond-points at the intersections marked by mausolea or ornamental planting, the latter devised by Isaac Finnemore with advice from J C Loudon. The main Ceremonial Way culminates in a dramatic architectural ensemble recalling Bernini's piazza in front of St Peter's in Rome, with flanking colonnades curving outwards to form a Great Circle, closed at its southern end in a domed Anglican chapel (the planned Catholic and Nonconformist chapels were omitted for financial reasons). The cemetery, never a commercial success, was compulsorily purchased by the General Board of Health in the early 1850s, and has remained in state ownership ever since.
Details
MATERIALS: Portland stone
A Gothic altar tomb comprising a plinth carved with a series of blind trefoiled panels, and a tall central pedestal displaying blind ogee niches with crockets and flanking pinnacles. In front is a ledger slab, inscribed 'Entrance to the family vault of Philip Nowell of Lower Belgrave Place Pimlico', which marks the entrance to the vault beneath.
Sources
Books and journals
Sheppard, FHW, Survey of London: Volume 41: Brompton, (1983), pp.246-252
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: London 3 North West, (1991), pp.470-471
Stevens Curl, J, The Victorian Celebration of Death, (1972), pp.112-129
Other
Brompton Cemetery Burial Records (BR480 and 561), held at the National Archives,
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 28-Jun-2026 at 03:00:35.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.