A century of cremations

5:01pm Tuesday 1st October 2002

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The familiar funeral rite laments the gradual decay of the human body back to the soil when it is buried.

But at the dawn of the 20th Century, there came to north London a quicker alternative, bypassing all that tedious decomposition cremation. Now in its centenary year, Golders Green Crematorium in Hoop Lane has incinerated 304,000 people, including prime ministers, composers, pop stars and more.

Historian Ann Saunders has lived next door to the crematorium in Meadway Gate for 20 years.

"Having the crematorium so close means extremely quiet neighbours," she said.

"It was there before the community arrived. At the Hampstead Garden Suburb Archive Trust [HGSAT], we have a photo showing this crossroads, which is Golders Green, surrounded by fields and hedges and the only thing you can see is the central furnace tower.

"You think: That can't be St Jude's it's too square' and then you get it it's the crematorium.

"It was built away from everything and then Dame Henrietta Barnett marched in and laid out the Garden Suburb."

Dr Mervyn Miller, president of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, has contributed a chapter to a book on the crematorium.

"It is one of the great monumental buildings of the 20th Century.

Although it was technically not the first crematorium, it put the concept of cremation in the consciousness of north London.

"It was a new idea and a lot of people still shy away from it because being incinerated is so final."

Crematorium general manager Steve Wright says staff have to contend with some lurid rumours about what goes on in the crematorium.

"It's amazing how many people ask if we wait until the end of the day and then cremate all the bodies together," he said.

"They also ask if the ashes they get in the urn are the right ones, or if it all gets mixed up together and is spooned out of a big pot."

But when Mr Wright reassures the public that everything works as it should and invites them to come and see for themselves, few take up the offer.

"Most don't want to. They are scared of what they might see," he said.

"They don't like the subject of death. But we have an open house policy. If anyone wants to see, all they have to do is ask."

But Mrs Saunders, who used to chair the HGSAT and recently completed a book on St Paul's Cathedral, says the efficiency of incineration reflects the detached nature of city life.

"It would be more friendly to be buried in the village churchyard you would stay with your neighbours and they could think kindly of you as they walk by," she said.

"But in London everything is so impersonal and the cemeteries are filling up.

"There's no more space in the family grave in West Hampstead so the odds are that I myself shall be cremated at Golders Green but that's a headache for my son."

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