John Clarke

Historian of Brookwood Cemetery

Welcome to My Website

Hello, and welcome to my website

I'm a freelance w John Clarke riter, administrator and former medical librarian based in London.

My writing and research has mainly focused on Brookwood Cemetery and West Norwood Cemetery, but I have also written on various railway-related subjects.

Over the years I have presented many lectures on Brookwood Cemetery and its railway funeral service. If you are interested in booking me for a local (or national) group then please feel free to contact me via the contact page on this website or email me at info at john-clarke dot co dot uk.

Information about all of these areas are incorporated into my website.

Latest News:

London Cemeteries

The new 6th edition of this classic guide is now available.

It is published by The History Press and was published at the end of August 2023.

You can read my book review here.

Saint Edward the Martyr

The Saint Edward Brotherhood has recently published a new book on Saint Edward the Martyr. This incorporates the text of John Wilson-Claridge’s The Recorded Miracles of Saint Edward the Martyr, which has been unavailable for many years. The book also includes a section on the life of St Edward the Martyr, historical notes on his death, his relics, their loss during the Reformation, and their rediscovery in 1931 by John Wilson-Claridge. Read my review here.

King and Martyr Edward’s reign was brief, ended by his martyrdom in 978 when he was still only a young man. He quickly became one of the most venerated saints of Anglo-Saxon England; pilgrims came from all over England and from continental Europe to venerate his relics enshrined at Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset.

Copies may be ordered direct from the Saint Edward Brotherhood using this link.

The Corpses at Waterloo

Is the title of Lynne Brittney’s latest murder mystery novel in her Mayfair 100 Series.

The book was published in July 2022 by Iris Books. You can read my book review here.

Charles Bradlaugh’s Monument Restored

I was fortunate to be invited to the official unveiling of the fully restored authentic replica bust & wreath on the memorial to Charles Bradlaugh in the North Cemetery. This event took place on 17 October 2021. The project was jointly supported by the National Secular Society, the Brookwood Cemetery Society and Brookwood Cemetery. We owe them a great debt for making sure this iconoclastic Victorian politician’s grave was restored so magnificently. It should be admired and appreciated for years to come - as was the intention when the original bust was placed in 1893.

You can read more news here

Brookwood Necropolis Railway

New Publications

My new booklet on the Brookwood Military Cemeteries is now available. Further details are posted here.

My 400 page book (co-authored with Peter Hodgkinson) on Norwood and the Great War, has been published by the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery and is now available.

It covers the lives of 595 service personnel who died either during, or after the war of service-related conditions, 27 who served and died well after the war, and 16 civilians with WW1 connections. Additional information has been made available via the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery website.

In Preparation:

West Norwood Cemetery and the Second World War

West Norwood Cemetery and the Second World War by Peter Hodgkinson and John Clarke

A follow-up volume to Norwood and the Great War (see above) and co-authored by the noted military historian Peter Hodgkinson, this new full-colour volume guide is currently being completed.

It will be published in due course by the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery. Of a similar format to its companion volume, it is expected to comprise 200 pages. Further details will appear here in due course.

Forthcoming & Recent Lectures

“The London Necropolis Railway”

18th June 2024, 7pm, F W Paine,

24 Old London Road, Kingston KT2 6QG

“The History & Development of Brookwood Cemetery” 17th April 2024, 6.30pm, for the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society.

“The History of Brookwood Cemetery” 1st May 2024, 2pm, for the Farnham u3a.

For details of my guided walks following the route of the cemetery railway at Brookwood, please see further details on The Brookwood Cemetery Society’s website.

For further information on lectures I have undertaken in 2023 and earlier, please follow this link.

Current Research

*More on the Brookwood Cemetery railway (for a new edition)

* Pauper Burials at Brookwood Cemetery