Highgate Cemetery London

London's Highgate Cemetery

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Disposal of the dead has always been a problem since man began living in larger groups. As cities grew the responsibilities increased. Not too long ago life expectancy was very short which added to the burden of the cities to provide suitable cemeteries. By the Victorian era London was in a mess, the city was overcrowded and diseases such as cholera spread rapidly. Burial grounds had also become overcrowded, one burial ground, which had been designed to take a thousand dead, had 40,000 dead buried in it's ground. Bodies were continually having to be moved to make room for more and soon the stench became unbearable and bones could be seen protruding from the ground.

Early in the reign of Queen Victoria, it had been decided that London would require more than one new cemetry and so, in 1836, The London Cemetery Company was founded. The sole purpose of the company was to create cemetries in which a family would feel comfortable walking together in pleasant surroundings. In total seven new cemeteries were built; Abney Park (1840), Brompton (1840), Highgate (1839), Kensal Green (1832), Nunhead (1840), Tower Hamlets (1841) and West Norwood (1837) collectively they became known as the "Magnificent Seven".

The cemeteries at Kensal Green and at West Norwood both contain a selection of monuments and are well worth visiting if you find the time. However the real gem of the "Magnificent Seven" is Highgate Cemetery. Highgate is set upon a rather hilly ground, monuments are well settled and, together with the overgrown ivy, those that are sloping add to the romantic atmosphere of the place. As you wander you will discover weeping angels and shrouded urns, lions, dogs and many other magnificent works of art. There are enormous mausoleums that seem to command respect while the simple little crosses often have more impact.

Highgate Cemetery is a popular place for visitors for the simple reason that there are many famous people buried there. The West Cemetery has most of the finest examples of architectural masterpieces but the eastern extension is home to the memorial to Karl Marx.

Marx was not a rich man when he died and his grave was marked with a simple slab. The image shown to the left depicts the Marx family grave in Highgate Cemetery as it would have appeared at the time (taken from the book "The Marx He Knew", by John Spargo). Today the slab can be seen set into the amazing monument which was erected by the British Communitst Party in 1956.

Highgate cemetery is home to a great many other graves of noteworthy people including the final resting place of Sir Leslie Stephen, who was the 1st editor if the "Dictionary of National Biography" (he is also well known for being the father of Virginia Woolf). Others include; George Eliot (novelist) and husband J. W. Cross, C. H. Newton, Dr S.Birch and George Wombwell.

The grave shown to the right (click images to view enlargements) is that of Tom Sayers. Tom was famous in Victorian times as an unbeaten bare fist fighter. Tom was only a short man of 5ft 2in but in all of his fifty four fights nobody had ever managed to bear him (a few lucky fellows had managed a draw). Even back in Victorian times bare knuckle fighting, which also involved heavy gambling, was illegal but, somehow he had always managed to escape capture. Tom's last fight was against a large American fighter of over 6 foot in height and, after over two hours of fighting it was brought to an abrupt end with the arrival of the police. Everyone fled the scene and the fight was called a draw but Tom allegedly claimed victory and went out celebrating with his pals. Unfortunately he caught a cold (blamed on the fact that he had only been wearing his shirt sleeves while out celebrating) which developed into pneumonia and a few days later he was dead.

 

One of the most incredible structures to within Highgate Cemetery is the Egyptian Avenue. The Avenue's gateway is a large Pharoanic arch with two bold columns set either side each with closed lotus buds at the top.

The avenue has walls which decrease in height along it's length, creating the illusion that it is much longer than it really is. As you can see in the photograph to the left there are doorways (eight) recessed along each side. Each doorway opens into a tomb which holds twelve coffins (arranged with three shelves on each side, each housing 3 coffins and a further three placed centrally on the floor). That makes the total capacity 192 coffins, the first of which sold for 130 guineas in 1851.

Once through the avenue you enter an area called the Circle of Lebanon which is shown in the photograph to the right. The circle consists of 20 sunken tombs which encircle a Lebanon cedar tree which had been a feature of the gardens of Ashurst Manor and believed to have been over one hundred years old at the time.

The tombs of the Circle of Lebanon were far more expensive than those in the Avenue (the first sold for 260 guineas) but, even though these tombs held fifteen coffins, they soon sold out. To satisfy demand an outer ring of tombs was built in the 1870's, again with a fifteen coffin capacity. These new tombs proved just as popular as the first so it was decided that the last tomb would be used as a "columbarium" where people could have their ashes interned to be kept within a small casket or urn which was placed in a small recess in the walls. In total there are 52 tombs in the Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon.

 

If you wish to visit this gothic masterpiece you will find the following useful:

Highgate Cemetery,
Swains Lane, N6
Tel: (020) 8340 1834.
Website: http://www.highgate-cemetery.org

The easiest way to get there is by the London Underground where you can get off at Archway or Highgate and then walk up Highgate Hill and through Waterlow Park. You can also get there by bus number 210 to Waterlow Park.

Please Note: If you are going to be visiting Highgate Cemetery you should be aware of the following information:

If you are planning to visit the West cemetery, where you will find the most popular attractions, you are not allowed to roam freely. Instead you must take one of the guided tours run by the Friends of Highgate society. The tours cost around £3 and must be booked in advance. There are no guided tours of the West cemetery from January to March.

Unfortunately the tour may not be suitable for those who have difficulties in walking as the ground is very hilly, even able bodied folk should wear good walking shoes and be prepared to expend some energy.

Admission to the East cemetery costs aroundf £2 and you are able to roam around freely.

Finally a quick check of the official website will be required to check the opening and closing times.

We hope that you enjoy your visit to this fascinating unusual visitor attraction.

 

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