The Rowan tree nearby was planted in memory of Mathew Crosse, Lt. Cdr. RNVR who loved these gardens, 1914 - 1977.
We saw no tree on the site that looked anything like a Rowan tree.
Site: Holy Trinity Brompton churchyard arch - Cross (1 memorial)
SW7, Ennismore Garden Mews, Brompton Oratory Garden
Our photo shows the arch from the south. Below the statue of a saint (almost certainly) the carved inscription reads "The Lord hath quickened me" (Ephesians 2:1–7). On the other side of the arch, below a statue of another saint (almost certainly) the carved inscription reads "Oh, enter into His gates with thanksgiving" (Psalm 100:4 King James Version), and lower down "Brompton Church" is inscribed.
This garden was originally the churchyard for Holy Trinity Church Brompton which opened in 1829. It is said to have been the last churchyard provided adjacent to a church in central London, and was closed by 1854. In 1881 this gateway was designed by H. D. Shepard, an independent architect, assisting Arthur Blomfield in a project to enlarge/improve the church. The gateway, in Dumfries stone, was first erected at the south end of the avenue facing Brompton Road but was moved, 1908, to its current location.
We wanted to understand where the gateway was initially and why it was moved, so we checked maps from , and . The 1893 maps shows something which must have been this gateway and some walling right on Brompton Road, about where the statue 'The Return of the Prodigal' by Charlie Mackesy' is now. It must have been the other way around with the "Brompton Church" facing the pavement. The maps show no clear reason for its repositioning.
c.1954 most of the gravestones were removed , the dead reinterred at Brookwood Cemetery and the space opened as a park.
Information mainly from .
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