His first prospectus, issued in 1825, failed, but a new committee established in February 1830,[2] including Andrew Spottiswoode, MP for Saltash, sculptor Robert William Sievier, banker Sir John Dean Paul,[1] Charles Broughton Bowman (first committee secretary),[3] and architects Thomas Willson (who had previously proposed an ambitious Metropolitan Sepulchre project) and Augustus Charles Pugin,[4] gained more financial, political and public support to fund the 'General Cemetery Company'.
A succession of architects were contemplated, including Benjamin Wyatt (who declined), Charles Fowler (proposal not taken up), Francis Goodwin, Willson, and a Mr Lidell, a pupil of John Nash, before an architectural competition was launched in November 1831.
This attracted 46 entrants, and in March 1832 the premium was awarded, despite some opposition, for a Gothic Revival design by Henry Edward Kendall;[4] this decision was, however, eventually overturned as the Company directors (appointed after the Bill received Royal Assent) asserted their control and preference for a different style.
One of the competition judges and a company shareholder, John William Griffith, who had previously produced working drawings for a boundary wall, ultimately designed the cemetery's two chapels and the main gateway.
[2] Carden, associated with addresses in The Grove, Hendon and 2 Sussex Gardens near Hyde Park, London, died on 18 November 1874[5] and was buried in Kensal Green.