Event Booking

We will visit the Brunel family memorial and the graves of other railway engineers and promoters, telling the story of the development of the GWR which runs just south of the cemetery. The tour will be conducted by John Haines, Chartered Civil Engineer and Kensal Green tour guide. 

The tour starts at the main pedestrian entrance on Harrow Road, close to the junction with Ladbroke Grove. It will last two hours and finish at the Dissenters’ Chapel, with hot drinks and Q&A. 

Advance booking essential.

Tickets: £12.00  / Concessions: £10.00; 

Members of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery: Free 

Kensal Green Cemetery is the last resting place for many veterans of the Battle of Waterloo which saw the final fall of Napoleon. It also houses the Admiral who took Napoleon to St Helena and at least three others who spoke to him there. The day will start with a talk about the historical events, followed by lunch and a tour of the cemetery, visiting some of the witnesses to these tumultuous events. 

The event will be run by:

John Haines, military history expert and Kensal Green tour guide and trustee, will lead a walk in the cemetery looking at the monuments of notable military and civilian personalities  

David Symington, a military history researcher and re-enactor, with special interest in social history, uniforms and weapons

Irina Porter, historian, Blue Badge Tour Guide and Kensal Green tour guide and trustee, specialising in cemeteries

The event will start at the Dissenters' Chapel. Lunch is included

“To Her”: Women in Cemetery Angels

A talk by Emma Liggins

The talk explores “beloved wives” and “beloved daughters” through the striking figure of the stone angel, revealing how commemoration of women both echoed and complicated the Victorian ‘celebration of death’. Through evocative epitaphs and richly symbolic sculpture, we’ll journey across some of Britain’s most remarkable memorial landscapes: London’s Highgate and Kensal Green cemeteries and Southern Cemetery in Manchester. Even after the First World War, the angel remained a familiar presence in remembrance, linked not only to mourning but also to cultural figures such as the “Angel in the House,” the fairy and the ghostly Angel of Mons. Whether envisioned as a celestial guardian or a grieving figure draped across a tomb, the cemetery angel remains one of the most powerful symbols of love and loss in funerary art. Join us to uncover the stories, symbolism and secrets behind these hauntingly beautiful monuments.

Dr Emma Liggins is a Reader in English at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She has published on women's ghost stories and Gothic fiction, and has a chapter on Neo-Edwardian Gothic in the recent collection Graveyard Gothic (2024). She is currently researching graveyards, memorials and ghost stories for her new book Victorian and Edwardian Death Spaces: Gender and Memorialisation, due out in 2027.

The Angels of Kensal Green

Guided Tour Led by Irina Porter

Continue the journey from talk to tomb on this guided walk through Kensal Green Cemetery, exploring the meaning and symbolism of its spectacular angels. You will encounter these powerful figures up close while uncovering the stories, beliefs and artistic traditions they embody. We will look at angels through literature, history, theology and art, to discover why they became such powerful symbols of comfort, protection and the hope of resurrection. The remarkable angels of Kensal Green will show us how their styles and meanings evolved from Gothic to the present day. Come and meet them for yourself!

Irina Porter is a London Blue Badge tour guide and historian with special interest in cemeteries. She is a Tour Guide and Trustee of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, volunteer tour guide at Willesden Jewish Cemetery and Chair and Journal Editor of Willesden Local History Society.

The event will start at the Dissenters' Chapel. Lunch is included

Advance booking essential.

Joseph Locke is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. He was probably more influential on the development of UK railways than Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who is also buried here. This tour will look at his achievements and those of some of the other railway engineers and promoters, who found their resting place in Kensal Green.

The tour will be conducted by John Haines, Chartered Civil Engineer and Kensal Green tour guide. 

Talk: Prince George and Master Frederick: Secrets behind Friendship

Join Ros Freeborn to hear what lies behind her story and discover the fascinating life of a boy raised in the shadow of the crown. This novel uncovers the fascinating story of Frederick Blomberg, the secret son of King George III, who was adopted into the royal household to serve as a playmate for young Prince George, the future George IV.  In this talk, Ros will explore the rich history behind her novel, the intriguing dynamics of the royal court, and the process of bringing hidden historical figures to life through meticulous research combined with storytelling. The book illuminates the private lives, secrets and complexities of the monarchy, offering fresh perspectives on a familiar historical period.

Ros Freeborn is the author of Prince George & Master Frederick, her first published work, written after she investigated a family story linking her to George III and became captivated by the real history of Frederick Blomberg. Before turning to fiction, she built a career in arts PR and later retrained at City & Guilds as a fine artist, becoming a commercially successful collage artist who exhibits regularly.

Guided Walk: Courts & Characters: Royal Life at Kensal Green

A guided walk through Kensal Green Cemetery’s royal connections reveals the world of the Georgian and early Victorian courts during the reigns of George III, George IV and Queen Victoria. It was its first royal ‘residents’ who made Kensal Green the most prestigious cemetery of the 19th century. On this walk we meet members of the royal family, their friends, servants, librarians, diplomats, musicians, architects and artists, - all those who made up the ceremony, creativity and human drama of the institution of monarchy.

Irina Porter is a London Blue Badge tour guide and historian with special interest in cemeteries. She is a Tour Guide and Trustee of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, volunteer tour guide at Willesden Jewish Cemetery and Chair and Journal Editor of Willesden Local History Society.

The event will start at the Dissenters' Chapel. Lunch is included

Advance booking essential.