Brookwood Cemetery and Necropolis Railway

Summary

The largest cemetery in the UK — 200 acres of Victorian landscaped burial with a former private railway station, forest walks, and Islamic, American military, and British war sections.

About this location

Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom, covering approximately 200 hectares of former heathland near Woking. Opened in 1854 by the London Necropolis Company, it was designed as a solution to Victorian London’s burial crisis and connected to London Waterloo by the privately operated London Necropolis Railway. The railway’s two private stations within the cemetery — the North and South Stations — are still standing, though no longer rail-served; these small Victorian station buildings are unique in Britain.

The cemetery landscape varies considerably across its extent: formal Victorian garden cemetery in the southern sections with ornate monuments and avenues of mature yews; wilder woodland in the north; the large American Military Cemetery in the north-east section; a dedicated Islamic burial section; and a range of Commonwealth war graves. The overall size means productions can find genuinely isolated sections even during peak visitor periods.

The cemetery’s management company handles film hire directly and has a developed commercial enquiry process. The site has been used for period drama, horror productions, music videos, and commercial shoots. The surviving Victorian station buildings — particularly the South Station, which retains its waiting room — are a specific draw for productions needing a period railway station interior without the complications of Network Rail access. The station is essentially a self-contained miniature railway building available for production use.