The cemetery was established by Act of Parliament which had its final reading in July 1832, and The Bishop of London consecrated the first 48 acres in January 1833. One of the original Magnificent 7 cemeteries in the capital, Kensal Green was London's first garden cemetery. Notables buried here include HRH the Duke of Sussex (sixth son of George III) engineers Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father, Marc, and Joseph Locke, novelists William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and Wilkie Collins, playwright Harold Pinter, champion chess player, Howard Staunton, and mathematician, Charles Babbage. Among around 250,000 interments its registers include over 550 members of the titled nobility. The cemetery's 72 acres are also home to an abundance of wildlife and plant life.