Ealing Parks Foundation Wants to Hear from You
Responses to survey will help restoration work at South Ealing Cemetery
The charity's volunteers working in South Ealing Cemetery
August 7, 2025
Ealing Parks Foundation, in partnership with Ealing Council, is leading a restoration initiative at South Ealing Cemetery, a Victorian-era site that has experienced significant decline in recent years. The project seeks to preserve the cemetery’s historical character while transforming it into a more welcoming and accessible green space for leisure, wellbeing, and wildlife.
The Grade II listed chapels within the cemetery have been identified as ‘at risk’ due to their deteriorating condition. Restoration efforts have included clearing overgrown shrubs to improve visibility and safety, cleaning selected memorials, and restoring the electricity supply to the chapels.
Volunteers have also serviced the chapel’s clock mechanism and pulley system, and created stumperies that will soon be planted with ferns. These improvements are part of a broader plan to repurpose the chapels for future community use, subject to funding.
In addition to structural work, the project has incorporated environmental and educational activities. Volunteers have planted bulbs and wildflower seeds to encourage biodiversity, cleaned existing bird boxes and installed new ones, and conducted historical research into the cemetery and its occupants. These efforts aim to enhance the site’s ecological value and deepen public understanding of its heritage.
Community engagement has played a central role in the restoration. Over the summer, the cemetery hosted a bat walk led by Ealing Wildlife Group, a butterfly count as part of the national Big Butterfly Count, and a second session of the popular history walk. The butterfly count notably recorded a small copper butterfly, a species listed as threatened.
An outdoor photographic exhibition is currently on display near the chapels, curated in collaboration with Ealing Photographic Society and sponsored by Kallkwik Ealing. The exhibition runs throughout August and September and is open to visitors during cemetery hours.
A series of public events are scheduled for September, including regular weekday and weekend volunteer maintenance sessions and Open House drop-in events. Guided tours titled “Stories Behind the Stones” will take place on 14 and 21 September at 3:00 p.m., offering visitors insights into the cemetery’s history.
Local residents are encouraged to support the initiative by attending events, volunteering, spreading the word, or completing a public survey. Responses to the survey will help inform grant applications aimed at restoring the chapels and further enhancing the cemetery. The survey can be accessed on this link , and more information about the project is available here.
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