117 
PARK AND CEMETERY . 
METHOD of ESTABLISHING CEMETERIES in ENGLAND 
The difficulties to be overcome in 
creating a new cemetery are more in- 
tricate than can be appreciated by 
the individual, are greater even than 
can be told in the reading of a paper. 
Whether it be a parochial author- 
ity or a private individual, the first, 
the very first, essential is to find a 
suitable site, at a suitable figure; in 
the former case, the price per acre 
is not the potent factor, it is in the 
latter, because it is always the ur- 
gency of the requirements and the 
public demand, rather than the com- 
mercial side, which dominates the sit- 
uation; while in the latter it is the’ 
prospect of dividends that attracts. 
In the case of a public body finan- 
cial troubles are the least concern, 
and time is of little consequence; 
while it is easy to imagine how red- 
tapeism impedes rather than assists 
progress; but if a private company, 
not only money but other numberless 
worries abound, in the shape of oppo- 
sition from those bodies who, while 
they refrain from embarking upon 
such projects themselves, so long as 
they are able, by their actions restrain 
others who would. Now, this should 
not be, for if private enterprise is 
ready to supply on a commercial 
basis that which is an absolute ne- 
cessity for the well-being of the com- 
munity at large — that which local 
and imperial authorities fail for senti- 
mental or other reasons to provide 
— then at least I suggest — it is un- 
kind (not to use a stronger term) of 
the authorities not to remain silent, 
so long as sanitary precautions and 
other interests are properly safe- 
guarded by the promoters. 
To proceed, the purchase of the 
land should not be completed unless 
it has first been approved as a burial 
site by the Local Government Board, 
-or you can readily perceive one can 
be saddled with a white elephant; 
therefore, either an option should 
be obtained, or the owner of the 
property be made in some way or 
the other an interested and beneficial 
participator in the scheme, because 
the ground, on inspection by the doc- 
tor and engineers of the Local Gov- 
ernment Board may be deemed un- 
Paper by F. Field, at the Convention of the British 
Undertakers' Association in London. 
suitable. There is also the possibility 
of the inhabitants of the locality 
strongly protesting. In either case, 
the license would be withheld, or if 
granted, such conditions, such onerous 
exactions, might surround the ap- 
proval of the site that its chance of 
becoming a remunerative investment 
would be entirely neutralized. 
A chance W'ord at a committee 
meeting one evening in May, 1907, 
caused Mr. H- A. Kellaway to ques- 
tion me at the close of our delibera- 
tions. It turned out he knew there 
was a license in existence for, and it 
also transpired the speaker knew the 
owner of, one and the same parcel 
of land. So we decided, actually de- 
cided there and then, to form if 
possible a new cemetery, one that 
would not clash with undertakers’ in- 
terests, to furnish while there was yet 
time one more God’s acre on the 
verge of a crowded and great city, 
to supply a want the necessity of 
which was only too apparent and 
long felt by the inhabitants of that 
wonderful, that large, and ever-grow- 
ing population of South London. 
Gentlemen, to say that we did not 
expect to profit by the enterprise 
would be a lie; but that we made up 
our mind that no person should lose 
a farthing if success did not attend 
our efforts, is equally a fact and the 
truth. Three days after that wonder- 
ful revelation three individuals met 
on the spot where the cemetery is 
now in existence. 
How the license fell into our hands 
need not here be discussed. Suffice 
it to say that only a very short time 
elapsed before it was safe in our so- 
licitor’s keeping. From this time on- 
ward the difficulties encountered 
overlapped one another with surpris- 
ing rapidity, not financial always, but 
matters of great moment and concern 
— threats here, threats there, which 
only acted as an education and 
spurred us on to fight the strenuous 
battle ahead. 
On 19th Sep., 1907, Mr. Kellaway 
and myself paid £100 deposit and 
signed an agreement. This agree- 
ment had passed backwards and for- 
wards several times froiii the vendors 
to our own solicitor, before it satis- 
fied our requirements. (Permit me 
here to mention that we were lucky 
in our choice of solicitor, both for 
the company and ourselves; he prov- 
ed painstaking, courteous, unassum- 
ing, yet firm, with a full knowledge 
of the law he safeguarded all inter- 
ests in a manner one could not fail 
to admire.) Under this agreement 
we could enter into possession of 
part of the land to at once commence 
operations; but if we failed to com- 
plete on the appointed day then any 
improvement we had made would 
have been forfeited to the vendors. 
Further, Mr. Kellaway and myself 
would have been liable to remove any 
structure and restore to its original 
condition all or any part thereof, if 
called upon so to do. Needless to 
say, we took no risks on this score. 
It probably would have been more 
satisfactory to the vendors if some- 
thing had been done, as in the light 
of future events, had we commenced, 
our hands would have been tied and 
our freedom to negotiate further at 
an end. 
At the worst, our loss at this stage 
was £100 plus solicitor’s costs, etc- 
We were bidding for publicity to 
ensure an adequate subscription by 
telling all we met of the coming good 
thing, and it was here that the delica- 
cy of the situation presented itself. 
To shrewd parties whose business 
it is to profit by others’ inexperience 
in company promoting, we were dis- 
closing our weakness, and so day af- 
ter day we had to listen to laudable 
tales. If we only would do this, or 
sign that, the success of the venture 
would be a thing of the past. So 
prolific, persistent, and continuous 
were the offers, our suspicions were 
aroused, and we signed nothing. We 
pitted ourselves, ordinary tradesmen, 
against professional financiers; we 
stood to lose a life’s savings. 
After weeks of anxious thought, 
the Articles of Association were pre- 
pared, the prospectus drawn and com- 
pleted, the directorate agreed, the 
