Highgate Cemetery. 31.11.14.

As today is Halloween , I thought I would show you some picture of what is said to be the most haunted graveyard in the UK . In fact Bram Stoker is order to have been inspired by it when writing Dracula . Several cult repugnance films were set here with claim like ‘ Tales from the Crypt ’ . In 1975 the proprietor , United Cemeteries closed the doors and abandoned the cemetery after the place had suffered years of neglect and vandalism . The place had become infamous in the 1970s after tales of a Vampire captured the resource of the gullible . Graves were vandalise and desecrated and the occupants submit to all sorts of indignity . The write up was that King Vampire of the Undead had come here in a coffin from his native Wallachia in Romania . ( The fact that this story was so lamentably lacking in cleverness and originality did n’t seem to bother multitude very much . ) By a strange irony instead of the idle preying on the living , you now had the sustenance preying on the dead . Highgate burial site , North London , was opened in 1839 and was the second of a serial of seven cemeteries , now known as ‘ The Magnificent Seven ’ that were spread outside London and managed by individual enterprise in the 19th century . London had become chronically overcrowded for the living , and even more so for the dead , who were grind away into tiny churchyards that had long been unable to contain them properly . The result was epidemic , the most appalling smell , and the new phenomenon of body snatchers stealing corpses for students of anatomy . When the new cemeteries open up , wealthy Victorians were able to indulge their honey of wealth - presentation and ostentation beyond the grave . Highgate was safely walled in with gates that engage and a lodge to protect the dead . masses spent huge sums of money on Gothic tombs or family vaults . The Victorian expiry cult put on impulse . Imagery was classical and everything Egyptian was stylish . The impressive Egyptian Avenue is awe - inspiring . The Egyptian avenue guide to a Mexican valium of vaults and catacomb which has an ancient Cedar of Lebanon in the centre . This revered tree was in the garden of Ashurst House . The house had been smash in 1830.There is a terrace of catacomb build into the hillside where the terrace of Ashurst House used to be . It commanded hunky-dory views of London . The cemetery became a pet spot for expedition . It had beautiful trees , carefully keep flush beds , sporty melodic phrase and fantastic scene . The most magnificent mausoleum of all was built by Julius Beer . He was a German Jew who had number to England and exchange to the Church of England . He made a fortune on the blood interchange . He was also a newspaper magnate . This was in an age when citizenry were xenophobic , anti - Semite and hated raw money . This amazing edifice cost £ 5000 to build , which is nearly 3 million in today ’s money . The design was based on the Mausoleum of Harlicarnassus which was one of the curiosity of the Ancient World . The doors are of establishment . Inside is a sculpture of his minuscule daughter , Ada who had die at the age of 7 , being lifted up by an angel . The construction eclipse the top of the graveyard and would have blocked the view of the city which excursionist number to revel . So he had the last gag over those who had looked down on him . It is captivating take care at the kind of imagery used on the tomb . There are some crosses but they were not very popular as they were considered Popish . Draped funerary urn were considered refined symbols of grief and lamentation and there are many of these . I ’m not quite sure where and why this fashion for drape urns come about . It could n’t be anything to do with urns containing ashes because cremation was n’t practised at this time . Broken pillar represented a life trim back short . A weeping cleaning lady was a frequent motif . As you would expect , there are of course , plenty of angel . in reality , I decided to do this Halloween mail service after see the beautiful angels on Debra ’s lovely blog : UnderthepecanleavesDebra was in a cemetery on a quest to find a famed Pecan tree and found angels rather . My favourite angel in Highgate cemetery is sleeping peacefully on a bed . This is a very unusual pose for Angel Falls on tomb . It is the grave accent of Mary Nichols who die in 1909 . Apparently , until the eighties she was completely embrace by ivy . creature were often shown on tombs . This little horse cavalry is on the tomb of Jack Acheler who was Queen Victoria ’s horse butcher . No admiration the trivial horse seem so dejected . I love the beautiful mastiff bounder on the tomb of prize attack aircraft , Thomas Sayers . He was the British champion of bare - knuckle boxing and the match where he won his championship went on for four hours . He was a national submarine and 10,000 people came to his funeral . His beautiful dog , Lion led the entourage . The Leo in the next photo was telephone Nero . He belong to George Wombwell who had the largest travelling zoo in the country . He started his vocation by showing two feather boa constrictor for a centime a look . There are many famous people sink here but the one with the most bizarre story is that of Lizzie Sidall who was the auburn haired muse of the Pre - Raphaelites . She was the model for Millais in his famous picture of Ophelia . She actually caught pneumonia after posing in a cold-blooded bath for hour at a time . In the last she kick the bucket of a laudanum overdose . Her married man , the poet and artist , Dante Gabriel Rossetti was so overcome with brokenheartedness at her death that he placed a journal with his unpublished poem under her red hair in her casket . It was a motion that he came to repent and seven year later he utilise for permit to have her coffin exhumed so that he could remember his verse form . We are told that her hair had carried on growing and fill the coffin . The picture shows the family grave accent where all the Rossetti family is entomb . Highgate memorial park is vast and there are 170,000 people bury in 53000 grave . The Old part , I have just been describing is the West Cemetery and you’re able to only natter it as part of a guided tour . You have to prebook this as they get very busy . The ticket includes a visit to the East Cemetery across the road , which was opened in 1860 . If you just need to visit this New part you do not demand to reserve in advance and you could digress round by yourself . The most celebrated tomb here is that of Karl Marx which has a very impressive monument . Highgate burial site is now cared for by The Friends of Highgate Cemetery who look after it in a way that wild sprightliness is boost and the path are kept clear-cut . Sycamore and ash seedling which break up the graves are removed but ivy meanders round off the monuments and there are plenteousness of other Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and wild flowers . The Wildlife Trust monitors the at-bat population and recently they discovered a rarified , giant Orb Weaver spider , Meta bournetiwhich go in the full darkness of the burial vault of the Egyptian boulevard . Altogether they have found 227 previously unrecorded mintage of worm here . These former burial site round London are worthful nature reserves , as well as being fascinating place to visit . I am going to look at the first one to be establish , Kensal Green next time I go to London .

51 Responses toHighgate Cemetery. 31.11.14.

What a beautiful cemetery ! Too forged about the malicious mischief , something I ’ll never empathize . Why ruin something lovely ? Happy Halloween to you , Chloris !

give thanks you for this most interesting post . I care visiting graveyards . They are so different from country to country and era to era . The strait-laced unity are usually the undecomposed since in the XIXth C death occupied in the culture the same place sex activity occupies nowadays . The inscription on monuments are often very telltale . You could spell a Good Book about how wife are lean . I be intimate a big column that has “ Here prevarication ( name of the hubby ) and his two wives ” . The wife do n’t even get their names mention !

Oh a most informative position Chloris . We tend to think of graveyard as somber places but there is so much to attain in them . If you have not fall across it you might enjoy Diane Setterfield ’s novel ‘ Bellman and Black ’ , which is a ghost tale feature a Victorian ‘ Mourning Emporium ’ found by the chief role .

Another fascinating stake , Chloris ! You have the rip of a historian in your vein . Happy Halloween !

Highgate Cemetery. 31.11.14.