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martin_z

Writer's Graves

18 years ago

Hi all

On Friday last, our family took a trip to Highgate Cemetery. It was very much at my wife's instigation, but as it happened, I was very glad that I'd come.

We went mainly to see the remarkable way in which the Victorians celebrated death; we had a very interesting guided tour of the West Cemetery, and looked at remarkable things like the Egyptian Avenue (an avenue of family vaults architected in an Egyptian style.) We also just wandered round the East Cemetery, which turned out to be fascinating from an RP point of view. Douglas Adams was buried there (a very plain stone, just saying "Douglas Adams - Writer"). I also found George Eliot - and of course, Karl Marx. (You can't actually miss that last one - it's immense!) Also found (slightly less RP-oriented) Sir Ralph Richardson, Shura Cherkassky (concert pianist - I saw him twice at the Proms in two wonderful perfomances) and Rod Stewart's mum and dad (!). I'm sure there were other famous names too, but they've slipped my mind. Annoyingly, I had my camera, and didn't think to take photos. Oh, well.

The cemetery is built on a hill, with beautiful views over London. Originally there were low shrubs and bedding plants, so that the views would be undisturbed; but over the last hundred and fifty years, the trees and ivy have grown up, and it's more like a wood now. Really quite an evocative place, with ivy growing over all the tombs - you really wouldn't want to wander round it at night! Turned out to be a nice day, too - though we did get caught in a cloud-burst briefly, and had to take shelter in the entrance to a family vault...!

Really inter-esting day, he remarked gravely. (Sorry!)

Any other cemetery visitors?

Here is a link that might be useful: Highgate Cemetery

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