Old maps and aerial photos

Rocque's 16-sheet map is perhaps the finest map of what is now Greater London published in the 18th Century. It shows the area now occupied by Fulham Cemetery as Fulham Field. Crabtree farm is shown. "Munster" is still "Muster". Hammersmith Bridge (1827) doesn't exist yet, but Fulham Bridge (Putney) does.

• View the 1747 map on LayersOfLondon.com 👉

The map shows Fulham Common Fields where Fulham Cemetery is today. The West London Cemetery (Brompton Cemetery) is shown, laid out in 1837. Other interesting details include Crabtree farm, Dorset Cottage, Craven Cottage, Colehill House (aka Colehill Villa), and the Greyhound public house at the corner of Greyhound Lane. Lillie Road is still called Crown Lane.

• View the 1837 map on OldMapsOnline.com 👉

It's not shown on the map, but Sir John Scott Lillie had already started developing Fulham Recreation Ground from 1826 (source). 

This map is low on detail, but it shows clusters of houses around the villages of Hammersmith, Fulham, Parsons Green, and Walham Green (today Fulham Broadway). West London Cemetery (Brompton) is also shown.

• View the 1849 map on OldMapsOnline.com 👉

This map shows Fulham Common Fields where Fulham Cemetery is today, and the market gardens north of Lillie Road (here still named Crown Lane). Fulham Palace Road is still named Hammersmith and Fulham Road.

• View the 1859 map on OldMapsOnline.com 👉

The area that will be occupied by the cemetery in a year's time is still completely blank. (It's unknown whether the paths and hatching depict actual farm fields and dirt tracks.) The map shows the surrounding cottages, and especially the Hammersmith area, in great detail and high resolution.

• View the map on London1864.com 👉

The Ordnance Survey map of London in 1865 shows Fulham Cemetery in its original size before the extensions of 1874 and 1880, with both Episcopal and Dissenters' chapels. Lillie Road is still called Crown Road. The Crabtree farm and surrounding cottages are shown in great detail.

• View the 1865 map on OldMapsOnline.com 👉

This map shows Fulham Cemetery soon after its opening, in its original size. Details of the surrounding farms and cottages are also shown. Fuham Recreation Ground (Lillie Rec) is not shown (it opened in 1892), although it was developed by Sir John Scott Lillie since 1826. What is today Charing Cross Hospital is still the Fulham Union Workhouse.

• View the 1865 map on National Library of Scotland 👉

This map also shows Fulham Cemetery in its original size, before the extension of 1874. All the cemetery paths are shown as tree-lined avenues, although it's unclear if this reflected the reality or just illustration. Charing Cross Hospital is shown as Hammersmith and Fulham Workhouse.

• View the 1872 map on London1872.com 👉

The extension to Munster Road in 1874, and the east lodge by the Munster Road gate is shown. This is before the southward extension (1880) and the construction of the mortuaries.

• View the 1878 map on London1878.com 👉

This map also includes Hammersmith Cemetery (now Margravine Cemetery) which was opened in 1869. Strode Street (later Road) has the first terraced housing in the area. 

The Ordnance Survey map of London in 1897 shows the extension to Munster Road (1874) with a lodge by the gate and two mortuaries, as well as the southward extension (1880). The layout of the paths matches that of the present day. Fulham Recreation Ground (Lillie Rec) is shown, opened in 1892. Lillie Road now has its present-day name (after Sir John Scott Lillie).

• View the 1894-96 map on National Library of Scotland 👉

Sir John Scott Lillie started to develop the area that became the Recreation Ground in 1826. Fulham Football Club played here in 1884 and 1885. (Source). The gradual encroachment of urbanisation  from the north and east is visible, following the introduction of the underground railway in the 1880s.

This map does not show much detail of the cemetery, but the staggering transformation of Fulham from farmland to dense residential streets over the preceding 20 years is evident. Gone is Crabtree Farm, the last farm to close (in 1910). Gone is the Munster Road Nursery. You can see Fulham Cross school, built in 1908, and the Lillie Rec bandstand. 

• View the 1912 map on OldMapsOnline.com 👉

This map from 1915 shows the cemetery layout in good detail, with both chapels, both mortuaries, and both lodges. A tramway runs down Fulham Palace Road. (The LCC electric trams can be seen in this aerial photo from 1928 or on Facebook – they ran from 1906 until the introduction of the trolleybus in 1935.)

• View the 1915 map on National Library of Scotland 👉

It's not clear exactly when this area was surveyed, but all cemetery buildings are still in place, which puts it somewhere between 1949 and 1966. This shows the shape and location of the Nonconformist Chapel in greatest detail.

• View the 1944-73 map on National Library of Scotland 👉

This map shows the industrial Thames riverside in its heyday, as well as Riverside Studios (est. 1933). None of the present-day housing estates exist yet (Bayonne Estate, Aintree Estate, etc.) – built after 1960. This is the first map to show Fulham Hospital instead of Fulham Union Workhouse, although the present building was only inaugurated in 1973.

This remarkable image, taken 5 years after the war, shows the cemetery densely packed with graves, before most of the headstones were removed and the cemetery grassed over. The Nonconformist Chapel, both mortuaries, and east lodge all still exist. There are surprisingly few trees, although the photo was taken in April so most would not have been in leaf yet. It is just possible to make out a line of trees along the principal avenue.

• View the full 1949 image on Britain From Above 👉

The full image also includes Margravine Cemetery, still showing the central chapel, demolished in 1953, and the elm tree avenue.

The process of "grassing over" appears incomplete at this stage, with large numbers of graves still visible in the northwest and southwest sections. Most of the paths are tree-lined, except, surprisingly, the prinicipal avenue. There are relatively few trees aside from these. The Nonconformist chapel is gone; it's unclear whether the mortuaries and east lodge are gone too. 

• View the full 1981 image on NCAP 👉

In the full image you can see Lillie Rec still lacking its playground and ball courts. Everington School still exists (photo). Bayonne Estate is under construction and Bayonne Park is derelict. Most of Strode Road's terraces are gone.

At this time the cemetery does not look that much different from the present day. There are ornamental flowerbeds by the chapel and lodge, as well as on both sides of the avenue by the Munster Road gate. The giant purple maple on the central path is visible as a small tree, as are the cedars that today shade the avenue. There is a barren area where the south mortuary must have stood.

• View the full 1992 image on NCAP 👉

In the full image, the south triangle of Lillie Rec has a hard surface with several ball courts. Everington Street Infants School still exists. Strode Road has new housing.