SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has unveiled a new reflective garden in historic Brookwood Cemetery – the largest cemetery in the world when it opened in 1854.
The new garden, created on a disused patch of land between the station and the cemetery, will be a place where lost railway colleagues and friends will be remembered. The peaceful space, where visitors can pause and reflect before entering the cemetery itself features planters constructed from repurposed railway sleepers and a section of railway track moved from beside Brookwood station. As well as as providing this space for contemplation and remembrance, the garden also serves as a memorial to the London Necropolis Railway (LNR), Britain’s most unusual line.
Between 1854 and 1941, the LNR transported people on a one-way journey from a specially constructed terminus at Waterloo to their final resting place at the cemetery. Located 23 miles from London, it met the needs of the growing metropolis, where graveyards were at capacity.
The opening of the reflective garden is the latest SWR contribution to celebrations of Railway 200, the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway – and will serve as its flagship ‘legacy’ project, to be enjoyed by generations to come.
SWR is especially grateful to Network Rail Wessex for their support with this special project. They provided the recycled sleepers for the planters and moved the section of track - the memorial to the London Necropolis Railway - into the garden and joined SWR colleagues at a volunteering day to help complete the work.
Paula Aldridge, SWR’s Community Rail Manager and driving force behind the project, said:
“I’m very proud that we have unveiled the very first reflective garden on the SWR network as one of our special Railway 200 legacy projects.
“It has been created through a fantastic collaboration between SWR contractors, Network Rail and Brookwood Cemetery who have transformed this once barren space into a place of reflection and remembrance for visitors to the cemetery”
Mark Gibbs of Hackwood Building Services, one of the main supporters of the project, added:
“As soon as I saw the photos of the rather barren looking area and the plans for the proposed garden, I knew it was a job I was going to enjoy managing. Being slightly outside our normal remit made it even more enjoyable.
“Paula had a clear deadline that we all wanted to hit, and everyone rose to the challenge, even mother nature! With gardeners praying for rain and our team taking on the hard landscaping praying for sun, thankfully she gave us a mix of both.
“Hackwood Building Services are immensely proud of the end result, and we hope it's enjoyed by many people for many years to come”
Throughout 2025 SWR has celebrated Railway 200 with a special programme of events from a catwalk show of 200 years of commuter fashion on an Arterio train, hosting the Railway 200 ‘Inspiration’ train at Waterloo and commemorating the 140th anniversary of the London and South Western Railway Servants’ Orphanage to celebrating the birthday of every station on its network.
SWR would like to acknowledge and thank the following suppliers and contractors whose generous support made this project possible: Hackwood Building Services, Jackson Fencing, LJ Thorpe, SAGE, Swift Groundworks, Transport Signs and especially colleagues at Network Rail.
