For 87 years, nearly every day, a single train ran from Waterloo to Brookwood cemetery in Surrey and back. Its passengers were a mixture of the living and the dead. The service offered a choice of first, second or third class tickets for both the deceased and their accompanying family and the railway followed a purposefully chosen 23-mile route so the mourners could be consoled in their grief with elegant views of Westminster, Richmond Park and Hampton Court. At its peak, from 1894 to 1903, the train carried more than 2,000 corpses a year.

In this talk, John Clarke, the author of the first major history of the Necropolis Railway and guide to Brookwood Cemetery, will discuss the rise and fall of the Necropolis project and the operations of the railway.

Tickets now sold out.

John Clarke is a lecturing Medical Librarian with an MA in History. Investigating Brookwood Cemetery since 1976, his role as part-time Historical Consultant to the Cemetery between 2007 and 2012 has informed his comprehensive guide "London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery". Other books include "The Brookwood Necropolis Railway", "An Introduction to Brookwood Cemetery", "The Glades of Remembrance and The Columbarium".

Travel advice to the Dissenters' Chapel - During the day guests can walk through the cemetery to get to the chapel but at night the main cemetery gates on the Harrow Road will be closed and the only accessible entrance is on Ladbroke Grove. Previously the address for this entrance was 364 Ladbroke Grove but this number has now been updated to 391.

The two closest underground stations are Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City or Circle Line) or Kensal Green (overground and Bakerloo Line). From Ladbroke Grove station there are several buses you can take to the Dissenters which include either the 28, 52 or 452. It's best to get off at the Sainbury's bus stop and then it's a short walk down Ladbroke to the entrance to the Dissenters' Chapel.