Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery , also known as the London Necropolis , is a burial ground in Brookwood , Surrey , England . It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe . History . Brookwood Cemetery was conceived by the London Necropolis Company in 1849 to house London ' s deceased , at a time when the capital was finding it difficult to accommodate its increasing population , of living and dead . The cemetery is said to have been landscaped by architect William Tite , but this is disputed . By 1854 , Brookwood was the largest cemetery in the world ( it is no longer ) . Its initial owner incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1852 , Brookwood Cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on 7 November 1854 and opened to the public on 13 November 1854 . Over 235 , 000 people have been buried there . Brookwood originally was accessible by rail from a special station – the London Necropolis railway station – next to Waterloo station in Central London . Trains , with passenger carriages and others for coffins and ready for safe carriage by horse - drawn vehicle ran into the cemetery on a dedicated branch from the adjoining South Western Main Line – a junction was just to the west of Brookwood station . The original London Necropolis station was relocated in 1902 but its successor was demolished after suffering bomb damage during World War II . Two stations were in the cemetery itself : North for non - conformists and South for Anglicans . Their platforms still exist . For visitors wishing to use the South Western Main Line , Brookwood station provides direct access since June 1864 . A commemorative very short track with signpost and plaque which purposefully gives way to a grass field recollects the old final main stage of the journey of the interred . A military cemetery was added to Brookwood in 1917 and contains some of the dead from World War I and World War II . A military memorial was built in 1958 . Memorialised here too is Edward the Martyr , King of England , whose relics are kept nearby in St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church . The London Necropolis Company relinquished its interest in the cemetery around 1975 , but the cemetery remains privately owned . In 1985 , Ramadan Güney acquired Brookwood Cemetery , and was buried there in 2006 . The purchase evolved from Güney ' s role as Chairman of the UK Turkish Islamic Trust , which wanted suitable burial facilities for its members . Brookwood Military Cemetery and memorials . Brookwood Military Cemetery covers about and is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the United Kingdom . The land was set aside during World War I to provide a burial site for men and women of Commonwealth and American armed forces who died in the United Kingdom of wounds . It now contains 1 , 601 Commonwealth burials from World War I and 3 , 476 from World War II . Within this , there is a particularly large Canadian section , which includes 43 men who died of wounds following the Dieppe Raid in August 1942 . Two dozen Muslim dead were transferred here in 1968 from the Muslim Burial Ground , Horsell Common . The cemetery also has 786 non - Commonwealth war graves , including 28 unidentified French . It also contains Polish , Czech , Belgian and Italian sections . The United Kingdom 1914 - 1918 Memorial stands at the north - eastern end of the 1914 - 1918 Plot . The Brookwood Memorial stands at the southern end of the Canadian section of the cemetery and commemorates 3 , 500 Commonwealth men and women who died during the Second World War and have no known grave . This includes commandos killed in the Dieppe and St Nazaire Raid s ; and Special Operations Executive personnel who died in occupied Europe . The Brookwood Memorial honours 199 Canadian servicemen and women . The memorial was placed within a military cemetery near the theatre of operations . The nearby Brookwood ( Russia ) Memorial was erected in 1983 and commemorates forces of the British Commonwealth who died in Russia in World War I and World War II . Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial . This site lies to the west of the civilian cemetery . It contains the graves of 468 American military dead and a further 563 with no known grave are commemorated . It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission . Close by are military cemeteries and monuments of the British Commonwealth and other allied nations . Location . Brookwood Cemetery is located on both sides of Cemetery Pales in Woking . The best way to travel to Brookwood Cemetery is by car or railway ( Brookwood railway station ) . The cemetery can also be reached on foot by following the towpath next to the Basingstoke Canal . The Cemetery office is located in Glades House .