Brompton Cemetery

As London’s vast population exploded in the 19th century, seven new cemeteries – the ‘Magnificent Seven’ – opened, among them Brompton Cemetery, a long expanse running between Fulham Rd and Old Brompton Rd. The chapel and colonnades at one end are modelled on St Peter’s in Rome. While the most famous resident is Emmeline Pankhurst, the pioneer of women’s suffrage in Britain, the cemetery is most interesting as the inspiration for many of Beatrix Potter’s characters. A local resident in her youth before she moved to the north, Potter seems to have taken many names from the deceased of Brompton Cemetery and immortalised them in her world-famous books. They include Mr Nutkin, Mr McGregor, Jeremiah Fisher, Tommy Brock – and even a Peter Rabbett. Tours lasting two hours depart at 2pm Sunday from the South Lodge, near the Fulham Rd entrance.