Rippleside Cemetery

Rippleside Cemetery is a Victorian municipal cemetery on Ripple Road in Barking, east London. Covering roughly 31 acres, it has served the local community for well over a century. For visitors it is a quiet slice of local history: 1886 architecture, war memorials and the graves of people who helped shape the town.

Why was Rippleside Cemetery created?

In the later nineteenth century Barking was growing fast, and the churchyard at St Margaret's could no longer cope. The Barking Parish Burial Board laid out a new burial ground, which opened in 1886. The first burial took place that October. In 1897 the Urban District Council took over its management.

Dr Hugh Herbert Mason and his wife Susanna, both members of the burial board, were central to the project. Susanna Mason is also remembered as the first woman elected to Barking's town council, in 1894.

What can you see at Rippleside Cemetery?

• The 1886 chapel — designed by architect Charles J Dawson and listed at Grade II. The most impressive monuments cluster around it.
• Original lodge and gates — the Victorian lodge, gates and some railings survive.
• Cross of Sacrifice — a Portland stone war memorial, also Grade II listed.
• Stained glass — a window in the Chapel of Rest commemorates the Masons' daughter, who died aged seven in 1896. Susanna donated a series of windows, designed by Dawson, whose own grave lies opposite the chapel.
• Family monuments — including a marble triptych for Margaret Gow (d. 1929) and the Kelly family grave.

Traces of local tragedy

Six people killed in the explosion at Hewett's works in Barking on 12 January 1899 are buried here. Headstones like these tell the story of an industrial district: its work, its accidents and its ordinary families.

What is the cemetery like today?

The burial ground was extended eastwards around 1950. Today it includes memorial and lawn-grave sections, a dedicated children's area and a memorial garden. Burial registers run from 1886 to 2019 and hold around 62,600 entries, a useful resource for family historians. The site is also designated an Archaeological Priority Area.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Rippleside Cemetery? In Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, on Ripple Road.

When did it open? In 1886, with the first burial that October.

Are any structures listed? Yes, the chapel and the war memorial are both Grade II listed.

Can I research ancestors here? Yes. Burial records span 1886 to 2019 and number more than 62,000 entries.

How should I behave when visiting? It is a working cemetery, so keep noise down, respect mourners and photograph discreetly, away from any ceremonies.