 On the public announcement of her death on 8 July , the lights of every theatre in central London were extinguished for an hour . A Catholic service for Leigh was held at St. Mary 's Church , Cadogan Street , London . Her funeral was attended by the luminaries of British stage and screen . According to the provisions of her will , Leigh was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium and her ashes were scattered on the lake at her summer home , <unk> Mill , near <unk> , East Sussex , England . A memorial service was held at St Martin @-@ in @-@ the @-@ Fields , with a final tribute read by John Gielgud . In 1968 Leigh became the first actress honoured in the United States , by " The Friends of the Libraries at the University of Southern California " . The ceremony was conducted as a memorial service , with selections from her films shown and tributes provided by such associates as George Cukor , who screened the tests that Leigh had made for Gone With the Wind , the first time the screen tests had been seen in 30 years . 
