Build 1 — 31 July 2026
History of Wandsworth Common
The interpretation panels and memorial inscriptions on site, transcribed and gathered together here, July 2026.
A note from Philip Boys:
In July 2026, to pass the time while waiting for a 170 bus at the Huguenot Place stop, I nipped across the road to have a quick look at the restored burial ground, now in effect a pocket park. I'm so glad I did. I stayed for quite a while, missing a succession of buses, but took snaps of the marvellously wrought interpretation plaques.
I also located the Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) tree planted in 1985 by the Wandsworth Society to commemorate the three-hundredth anniversary of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes that brought Huguenots to Wandsworth.
It was good to see that it's alive and well in the top left corner of the burial ground. (I intend to write about mulberry trees in August 2026's Chronicles.)
The text below is entirely made up of transcriptions of the plaques I photographed. I hope they're all there, and complete and accurate (but let me know if that's wrong).
Although known as Huguenot Burial Ground, and for a time the French Cemetery, this site was a burial ground belonging to Wandsworth Parish, in which any parishioner might be buried. In 1680, with the churchyard surrounding All Saints Church on Wandsworth High Street running out of space, the parish began acquiring plots of land bordering what is now Wandsworth Common. This land was eventually opened as a burial ground in 1687. The site is also known locally as Mount Nod, the reason for this is unknown.
Burials eventually ceased in 1849. In 1886 John Traviss Squire recorded 150 graves here, of which some thirty were for Huguenot families. With this burial ground being the final resting place for a significant number of Huguenot refugees, the site remains an important historical record of some of the Huguenots who sought refuge in this country.
Illustration on the panel: "Old Huguenot Cemetery, Mount Nod, Wandsworth. Illustration for The Graphic, 27 June 1874."
Between 2019 and 2022 restoration work was carried out on the headstones, tombs and monuments and access to the site was improved. Around the site you will see that some of the graves are accompanied by plaques, including five Grade II listed tombs. These plaques provide an insight into the people buried there, although in certain cases we know no more than what is on the inscriptions.
The site remains very much as it was when it was closed in 1853. We hope you enjoy your visit and the chance to catch a glimpse of Wandsworth's past.
You may notice this symbol around the site. This is the Huguenot cross (croix huguenote) and is the distinctive emblem of the Huguenots and now an official symbol of the French Protestant Church.
The symbol is made up of a Maltese cross, signifying Christianity; four fleur-de-lys, totalling twelve petals indicating the twelve apostles; four heart-shaped spaces between each fleur-de-lys and the intersecting lines of the Maltese cross, reminiscent of the seal of John Calvin and symbolising loyalty; and the pendant dove representing the Holy Spirit.
The Huguenots were French Calvinist Protestants living in France and in the French-speaking part of what is now Belgium. They were persecuted for their faith by the French Catholic rulers in the 16th and late-17th centuries.
Around 50,000 Huguenot refugees are believed to have arrived in the UK between 1670 and 1710. The number of Huguenots seeking refuge in the UK particularly intensified following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, issued by King Louis XIV, which deprived the Huguenots of their religious and civil liberties.
A number of Huguenot refugees made their homes in Wandsworth. A French-speaking church was established in the 1680s, situated in Chapel Yard south of Wandsworth High Street.
Illustration on the panel: "Old French church, Wandsworth, now demolished; from The Graphic, 24 October 1885. Credit: Look and Learn / Peter Jackson Collection."
Many were also skilled and highly regarded artisans; for example, in the early 18th century local Huguenot dyers and felt makers contributed to Wandsworth becoming a recognised centre for hat-making across Europe. Wandsworth's Huguenot residents also worked as merchants, clockmakers, silk-weavers, and market gardeners, whilst others gained prominence in the British army and the City of London.
In 1787 membership of the Wandsworth French Church had declined to such an extent that it closed its doors. In just over 100 years the Wandsworth descendants of the Huguenot refugees had become fully assimilated into their local community.
Not all Wandsworth Huguenots were buried here at the Huguenot Burial Ground, but many were, and their stories form a significant part of Wandsworth's history.
Since 1901, the Wandsworth Coat of Arms has featured blue teardrops representing the tears of the Huguenots who found refuge in this borough.
The burial ground has suffered several periods of neglect since it was closed in 1853. At some point the burial ground was reopened as a public garden, but uncertainty over the years as to its ownership resulted in the site becoming derelict. It was eventually closed to the public in 2011 due to safety concerns, with many of the tombs being unstable and near collapse.
The site continued to be maintained by Wandsworth Council during this time with the Council managing the vegetation and protecting the tombs where possible.
In order to safeguard the headstones and tombs for the long term and to make the site accessible to the public again, Wandsworth Council applied for ownership of the land in 2018. This then allowed funding from Section 106 contributions and the Conservation Enhancement and Grants Programme to be used to restore the gravestones and tombs and for some landscaping to improve accessibility to the site. The former burial ground was then finally reopened to the public in 2021.
The work required for each individual headstone or tomb varied from lightly brushing and cleaning through to dismantling and reconstruction. The aim has been to ensure all the headstones and tombs can be protected for years to come in the most sensitive way possible.
The five listed tombs illustrated below were entered on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2004. Following the restoration, these were all removed from the register.
A huge thank you to the Huguenot Society, the Wandsworth Society and the Wandsworth Historical Society for all their time and support in developing interpretation to tell the story of this unique site.
The five listed tombs pictured on the panel: Samuel John · Errington Ward · Cotterell, Rooke & Allen · Peter Paggen · John Gillam.
Four of the on-site plaques record the inscriptions on individual tombs. They are transcribed below exactly as engraved, including their original spelling.
James Baudouin was a Putney landowner, who was appointed in 1718 as the first Deputy-Governor of The French Hospital, pictured on the plaque, which was established for the relief of "poor, sick and infirm French Protestants" and is still active today.
The tomb of Lewis and Mary Grolleau also contains the mortal remains of their son-in-law, Paul Fourdrinier, who was an accomplished Huguenot engraver who lived and worked in Westminster. Fourdrinier's work on architectural subjects (such as the Corinthian capital pictured on the plaque) is of particular importance, and testifies to his reputation as "an eminent engraver".
Errington Ward was the son of George Ward, a City of London merchant who had been born in Whitby in Yorkshire, and Mary Errington, of Tynemouth in what is now Tyne and Wear. Errington's parents commissioned this tomb for him when he died at the age of 8. Also buried here are Errington's parents, his aunt Elizabeth Wilson, and Hannah Ward, his cousin.
Pictured on the plaque are the coats of arms of the Ward and Errington families.
Interpretation panels © Wandsworth Council, the Huguenot Society, the Wandsworth Society and the Wandsworth Historical Society. Transcribed on site, July 2026.