Monumental Inscirptions at Norwood Cemetery, Lambeth

[Sparklecat170]

Hi, Does anyone know if the MI's for Norwood have been transcribed and of so where I can get hold of them?  I have an ancestor Merena Grace Fido who was buried there in 1933.   I have looked on deceased on-line so I know she was buried there but I'd like to be able see the actual MI.
Many thanks

[rosie99]

Hi, Does anyone know if the MI's for Norwood have been transcribed and of so where I can get hold of them?  I have an ancestor Merena Grace Fido who was buried there in 1933.   I have looked on deceased on-line so I know she was buried there but I'd like to be able see the actual MI.
Many thanks

Death was registered as
FIDO, MINNIE  GRACE MERENA    age 78 
GRO Reference: 1933  Dec Quarter in CROYDON  Volume 02A  Page 466

ADDED
Probate in 1935 suggests she left £410. 

[BumbleB]

I would suggest that you contact Norwood to ensure that there is an MI.  AND the burial is registered as Minnie Grace Merena Fido - 27 December 1933.  There would also appear to be another burial in the same grave.  Information from Deceased Online.  Grave details appear to be available for the sum of £1.60. 

[BumbleB]

Not sure, but have you got her marriage details to William Fido in 1873?

[Enumerated]

There is no complete list of MIs. Presumably you have looked on Findagrave and Billiongraves to see if this grave has been photographed. If not you can make a memorial page on Findagrave and make a photo request, but you would need the plot number to have any chance of the photo request being fulfilled.

West Norwood Cemetery (formerly the South Metropolitan Cemetery) is over 40 acres. By the middle of the 20th century it was full and was abandoned by the South Metropolitan Cemetery Company. It became completely overgrown and was eventually taken over by Lambeth Council who set about bulldozing graves to make room for more burials. So even if there was a gravestone once it may not be there any longer.

The cemetery staff/Lambeth Council won't be able to tell you if there is a surviving gravestone. Your best bet would be to contact the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery (FOWNC) who have been very helpful in such situations in the past.

[Sparklecat170]

Many thanks everyone for your very helpful replies. As suggested I will follow up with the Friends of Norwood Cemetery.  I wasn't aware of Billiongraves so I shall check that out as well.  Also, I didn't know that you could make a request via Find a Grave so that is another avenue for me.
I could make a day out to Norwood Cemetery but I'd rather be sure that the grave exists before I do no.
Thanks again.

[Enumerated]

I wanted to give you a link to FOWNC but I still can't get the website to load - it just times out. I don't know if it's just me or if the website is down. Are you able to get on it? www.fownc.org

If you do decide to come and look for yourself you will definitely need the square number or it will be hopeless. Even then you would need to come early and allow plenty of time. The cemetery is on winter hours now and closes at 4 pm.

This findagrave memorial has photos of the cemetery map and a plot map.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187533039/william-henry_wentworth_atkins-bowyer
You can see there are a lot of graves in each square and I hope this will give you an idea of the difficulty of finding a particular grave. Just working out where a particular square is will be hard enough as they are not marked on the ground. If you are lucky and your ancestor has a gravestone with a clear inscription you might be able to find it easily. Otherwise you will be peering at numerous worn and crumbling monuments which are barely legible.

Whether or not there is a gravestone FOWNC should be able to locate the grave. They are familiar with the layout of the cemetery and have many years experience.

Good luck.

[Sparklecat170]

Thank you so much for your reply. I have contacted the friends of the cemetery as you suggested and I’ll wait to see what they say. I have another ancestor buried at Camberwell
Old Cemetery so I could make a day of it!
Thanks again

[Enumerated]

Good luck and do let us know how you get on.