Grave of George Wombell, 'Menagarist'
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I visited Highgate Cemetery in London last weekend - was dismayed at first by the restrictions on photography, but was able to take quite a few images while I was. I was hindered by a lack of light, but made the most of it. The whole post-gothic Victorian necropolis is under siege by nature - when entering the Circle of Lebanon (a huge neo-Egyptian mausoleum complex) we even saw a fox. The tour was lead by a stout elderly gentlemen with a walking stick, who puffed and panted his way through the tour. I wondered if he himself would expire before the downhill section started. On a poignant note, it seems that his wife is buried in the cemetery...
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Highgate Cemetery official website
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Worzel Tod's Highgate photos
After October of 1866, Rossetti rarely ventured out of his house in the daytime. He soon developed insomnia and what was a probably psychosomatic affliction of the eyes. Concern about his failing eyesight was perhaps what prompted him to turn back to poetry. Six years after Lizzie's burial, he tried to recall the poems from the buried manuscript. Finding himself unable to remember satisfactorily, he came up with a plan to remove the notebook from the coffin. This action would, of course, need to be kept strictly confidential because of its sensational nature. On October 5, 1869, a group of men traveled at night to Highgate Cemetery to remove the rotting notebook. It was delivered to Rossetti, who then copied the poems and destroyed the original.
Circle of Lebanon
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Circle of Lebanon
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Circle of Lebanon
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Circle of Lebanon
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Grave of George Wombell, 'Menagarist'
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Comments (8)
Ooooooh! Very eerie and magic, Dave!
Lookie, here's the last girl's little sister from the Eastern part of the cemetery. :)
I even met the infamous Highgate Vampire when I visited the Western part 2 years ago... he turned out to be my brother with my stola wrapped around his head. o_O
Posted by Suzanne | October 5, 2005 8:42 PM
Posted on October 5, 2005 20:42
Seriously creepy. What a visual treat.
Posted by DR Shoop | October 6, 2005 1:35 PM
Posted on October 6, 2005 13:35
brilliant pics, Dave. did you stumble across Karl Marx while you were there?
Posted by David Moore | October 9, 2005 5:47 PM
Posted on October 9, 2005 17:47
I was just in the Western bit, Marx is in the Eastern bit. Next trip!
Posted by dave | October 9, 2005 7:36 PM
Posted on October 9, 2005 19:36
What fantastic photographs.
Posted by Polly | December 23, 2005 6:01 AM
Posted on December 23, 2005 06:01
Beautiful photos! I wish we had cemeteries like this in the United States.
Posted by Amberrose | May 16, 2006 1:14 AM
Posted on May 16, 2006 01:14
I live a stone's throw from the West Cemetery, and visited it a few months ago - one of London's most inspiring and breath-taking spots. It's amazing that it's not better known.
I think it's a shame they don't do night-time tours, perhaps with little lanterns along the paths. - Particularly given their desperate need for funds.
The East Cemetery's also fascinating, but not a patch on the West (though I hear the Russian spy, poisoned with Polonium recently has been buried there - no doubt joining the band of Communists surrounding Marx)
Posted by Stephen Lindley | December 18, 2006 11:41 AM
Posted on December 18, 2006 11:41
having recently burried one of my best friends ashes in highgate cemetery it was uplifting to see such lovely photos when i felt a bit low, its a shame you didn't get a few snaps of the lake area, it was beautiful!
Posted by lesley close | February 4, 2007 9:15 PM
Posted on February 4, 2007 21:15