This was once part of the former churchyard of the parish church of St Nicholas. Plumstead, so-named for being a good area for fruit growing, became a fishing village and later its growing population included workers from the nearby Royal Arsenal. To serve the larger population further land for burial was purchased in 1860 and there were over 40,000 burials here, among them veterans of the Royal Artillery and Engineers; an unmarked grave is that of Daniel Cambridge, VC. In 1955, following its closure for burial, the churchyard south of the church was laid out as ornamental public gardens and gravestones were cleared largely to the perimeter.