West Street Cemetery

West Street Cemetery on West Street in Farnham in Surrey is one of four cemeteries in the Farnham area owned and maintained by Farnham Town Council. The two Cemetery chapels have been Grade II listed buildings on the Historic England Register since 1990.
A Burial Board was formed in Farnham in 1853 with the view to opening a cemetery in the town. The Board originally considered three plots of land in Farnham and at first accepted land at Willey Mill from Charles Knight; however, the total cost including the building of the two chapels would have cost nearly £3,500 and the Vestry would only sanction £3000. In May 1855 the Vestry suggested an alternative piece of land from Knight but the negotiations broke down so a plot of 15.8 acres in West Street was eventually bought from Thomas Pearce at a cost of £1200 plus £125 to buy out a Mr Mathers, a tenant on the site at the time. The Cemetery Lodge located at the original gates was built by Goddards of East Street in Farnham. The Cemetery opened in 1856. A Richard Wooderson was appointed Sexton on £10 per annum, and he moved into the Lodge on 1 May 1856 with the first burial taking place on 3 May that year; during the first decade of the Cemetery's existence there were about 80 to 90 burials a year. A newspaper report of 1931 records that four men were employed at the Cemetery. The Lodge became the first project of the Farnham Trust; the building having been condemned by Farnham Urban District Council the members of the Farnham Trust leased the building from FUDC, restored it and let it to a tenant. By 1980 additional restoration work was needed when internal dry rot was found. A long lease from Waverley District Council was obtained and the Trust then sold the lease. The Lodge is now privately owned, and a new lodge has been built at the new entrance further along on the West Street frontage.

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