Hither Greens Parrots and Graves

The cemetary that's home to a 80+ flock of Indian parakeets.

Location: Verdant Lane, Catford, London, SE6 1JX

Description: Hither Green Cemetery was founded in 1873 and appropriately the cemetery’s architect, Francis Thorne, was buried here in 1885.

In 1943 the nearby Sandhurst Road School was bombed, killing 38 children and 6 members of staff. There is a mass grave for 33 victims of this horrific disaster.

The row of poplar trees running down the middle is home to a large roost of Indian ring-necked parakeets. Up to eighty of these large and colourful birds gather here at dusk during the Autumn and Winter months, before dispersing to their meeting sites in mid January. Native to the Himalayas, these tropical looking birds seem immune to the cold and are now thoroughly at home here.

Leyland Lewis Duncan, Colfeian, historian and photographer (24 August 1862) was buried here following his death on 26 December 1923.

Themes: Grave Grave Theme