Description

963/32/1115

NORWOOD ROAD (East side)
Tomb of Michael Emmanuel Rodocanachi and family in West Norwood Memorial Park south west of gate to Greek Burial Ground

(Formerly listed as: NORWOOD ROAD SE27, WEST NORWOOD MEMORIAL PARK PP RODOCANACHI AND FAMILY TOMB SOUTH WEST OF GATE TO GREEK BURIAL GROUND, previously listed as: NORWOOD ROAD SE27, RODOCANACHI TOMB SOUTH WEST OF GATE TO GREEK BURIAL GROUND IN WEST NORWOOD MEMORIAL PARK)

27-MAR-81

GV
II
Chest tomb, c1901

MATERIALS: White marble on pink granite plinth

DESCRIPTION: Marble sarcophagus with moulded base, flat corner pilasters, acanthus-leaf cornice and coped top with carved pediments and honeysuckle corner acroteria. Inscriptions in Greek and English commemorating various members of the Rodocanachi family; Michael's name is on the east end and Emmanuel's on the south side.

HISTORY: The West Norwood or South Metropolitan Cemetery opened in 1837, the second of the 'magnificent seven' burial grounds established on the outskirts of London in the 1830s and 1840s to relieve pressure on overcrowded urban churchyards. The buildings and landscaping were designed by the architect William Tite, who was also chairman of the board of the cemetery company. In 1842 a small area in the north east corner of the cemetery was acquired for the use of London's Greek Orthodox community; this area was extended, and an Orthodox chapel added, in 1872. A large number of impressive mausolea were built by wealthy Anglo-Greek families, and the enclosure now contains the largest concentration of listed monuments in the cemetery.

Michael Emmanuel Rodocanachi (1821-1901) was born on the island of Chios, into an internationally important family of Greek merchants. Forced to flee after the Turkish massacres of 1822, his parents eventually moved to London, where Michael - along with his younger cousin Peter Pandia Rodocanachi - took charge of the British branch of the family trading network. He was markedly successful in business, profiting from the trade liberalisation that followed the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 and diversifying into property development and finance; in 1862 he co-founded the Imperial Bank, later to become part of the Midland Bank. He was a prominent figure in the Greek Orthodox community in London, one of the group who oversaw the building of St Sophia's cathedral in Bayswater. His eldest son, Emmanuel Michael Rodocanachi (1855-1932) succeeded his father at the head of the family business, and was also a director of the Midland Bank and the Bank of Athens.

SOURCES: 'Norwood: Cemetery, schools and domestic and other buildings', Survey of London: volume 26: Lambeth: Southern area (1956), 180-187
Stuart Thompstone, entry on Michael Emmanuel Rodocanachi in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The tomb of Michael Emmanuel Rodocanachi is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural: an impressive late-Victorian marble tomb in a Neoclassical style
* Historical: commemorates a leading Anglo-Greek merchant and banker of the period
* Group value: with the other listed tombs in the Greek enclosure.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26318104

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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