Category: History
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Let’s Go Outside
Not on the official tour of Highgate Cemetery in respect to the family’s wishes, there is no ‘here lies George Michael’ at his gravesite. All there is is his real name (Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) and the epitaph ‘beloved son, brother, friend’. George was a man who had a huge influence on me coming to terms…
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The Mausoleum in a Picture Gallery
On a long, leafy road by a prestigious school, death hides in plain sight. It’s actually a slightly more embellished version of a building that once stood elsewhere. The Dulwich Picture Gallery is the world’s first purpose-built exhibition space. It houses paintings by Canaletto, John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough as well as lesser known works…
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The Last Mourner
One thing fascinates me about grave-hunting. When did the last true mourner last visit this grave? This throws me back to an experience in my boyhood. It’s been oft reported that my fascination started as a result of my weekly pilgrimages to both my grandfathers graves. Besides complaining “why can’t I go off and explore?!”,…
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The Laundress
Reconnecting with a formidable woman from my family tree In the middle of Fulham, not too far from Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea Football Club, is a building that sticks out. In comparison to the streets of terraced housing that surrounds it – it doesn’t seem to fit. Over the last century or so this…
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The Top 7 Graves Associated with Dickens
The story of Ebenezer Scrooge from visits by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future is as familiar to us now as the story of Jesus laying in his manger. One of the most iconic scenes in the story is as the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge his own name on a headstone.…
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Execution: 700 Years of Punishment in London
Death as a form of entertainment is nothing new to the history of London. From the 12th to the 19th centuries, watching someone die was one of the hottest tickets in town. Who knew that the class system informed how you would meet your maker? Beheading was often the preferred method of dispatching the upper…
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The Queen has died – so what happens next?
An inevitable day has finally happened. The Queen’s extraordinary reign – 70 years and 214 days – has drawn to a close, making her the second longest reigning monarch in history, behind Louis XIV of France, whose record of 72 years and 110 days. But records are irrelevant. The Queen has died and whether you’re…
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Apply Some Pressure
A wonderful testing works on London’s South Bank The imposing art deco Tate Modern and its new-ish extension, coupled with the glass severity that is the Blue Fin Building, tower over a nearby testing facility whose custom-made machine is as enduring a memorial as his own gravestone. The entrance to the building is surmounted with…
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A Magnificent Erection
Catarina Orduña Pérez decided to be commemorated under a truly unique memorial. Pushing what is considered an acceptable form of remembrance in a public space of mourning, 99-year-old Catarina and her family decided only one thing would represent her life and values – not a traditional headstone, but a five foot tall penis, complete with…
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Staring Into The Face of Death
It’s not on display any more, but one of my favourite objects in The British Museum is Napoleon’s death mask. Death masks were often used in an era before photography was widespread and captured likenesses which were used in sculpting busts of the decased post mortem. John Constable’s is on display at the Royal Academy…
Cemetery Club 