There are five tombs on the Heritage at Risk Register in the churchyard of St Mary Wimbledon. The volunteers for the repair and conservation of these listed tombs have teamed up with Mitcham Parish Church where they have one listed tomb on the Heritage at Risk Register. As a team we are hoping to raise a total of a little over £100,000 to get these valuable tombs off the At Risk Register. All of the timbs are Grade II listed.

The tombs are:

The Bazalgette Mausoleum - Sir Joseph Bazalgette was a civil engineer, who, in response to the Great Stink of 1858, created the first sewer network in central London, which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics. We still use the basis of this network today! He was born on 28 March 1819 and died 15 March 1891. The ironwork of the tomb has recently been repainted but the gates are missing. There is evidence that water ingress is causing collapse of the internal brickwork to the roof. 

The Tomb of Gerard De Visme - Gerard de Visme died in 1797. His stone tomb consists of a rusticated pyramid on a square plan with corner acroteria to the base. An acroterion has fallen due to movement in the blocks, and another is dislodged.

The Tomb of Henry Bankes - this table tomb from the mid-C18 has inset panels and baluster profiled corners. The tomb is suffering from continued waste dumping activity and has previously been subject to poor quality repairs.

The Tomb of Elizabeth Johnson - her table tomb, tapered to the base; was erected around 1800. The side panels have collapsed and vegetation has rooted in the monument and on its pedestal.

The Tomb of John Lawson - a table tomb on a stepped podium, dating from circa 1764. 

The Tomb of Thomas Stanly - a table tomb over large podium erected in the early C18. 

We have submitted an application for funding towards the repair of the Lawson Tomb to the Leche Trust as it is our oldest definitively dated tomb.

St Mary’s is planning events to fund-raise for the conservation and restoration of the tombs, including a musical soiree and ‘teas and tours’. This will involve a tour of the graveyard, focusing on tombs and monuments of interest, followed by a cream tea in the Garden Hall. Do come aong! We hope to raise awareness of the project and increase local interest in these important monuments.

St Mary’s and St Peter and St Paul’s intend to collaborate to host a musical event. We are currently planning to have St Mary’s Church Choir sing at St Peter and St Paul’s. Our event planning is in the early stages currently and we will be hosting more joint events to raise funds for our joint project.

Working closely with Mitcham Parish Church enables two communities to support and learn from the project together, with the end result of conserving and restoring our local heritage for the benefit of the whole community!

Following completion of the work, both graveyards will be in better condition, thus enabling anyone from the local community to spend time in open green spaces which can contribute to increased well-being, especially for those living in urban areas.

The local community will have the opportunity to learn more about their heritage and the history of those who lived in Wimbledon and Mitcham centuries ago. They will also learn how these people contributed to the local area.

In addition to these benefits, the monuments will also no longer pose a health and safety hazard.

We really hope you can help us to repair these important tombs and anything you can give will be very gratefully received!