History – Cemetery Club

The Comedian

Life lived with a bang, ended with a whimper Look at the cover image on this biography, written by Thomas Edgar Pemberton. Dressed with long, theatrical whiskers and a quizzical, confused glance – this was an extraordinary gentleman, resembling a 19th century Tom Selleck, who commanded a fee of £235 a week (roughly £23,500 in…
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Ghosts of West Norwood

West Norwood Cemetery shared an image of one of their more imposing monuments and I countered it with the same shot, but from 1968 (courtesy of Lambeth Archives). The imposing, henge-like monument to 19th century antiquaraian John Britton. A man who wanted his own memorial to endure down the eyons. So he took inspiration from…
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Studio For Sale

A flat in Hampstead is up for sale. Boasting over 1,332 sq feet of living space, a private terrace and close proximity to Hampstead High Street, this top floor flat – with its plain white walls, battered leather seats and eclectic set of metal map chests and chairs – has an asking price of £1.8…
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Outside of London: Berlin‘s Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

Taphophiles unite! A few days ago Matti Geyer, a tour guide from Berlin dropped me a message sharing his love of graveyards and cemeteries. He offered to do a short post about a cemetery that I myself had been to when I was last in Berlin – one of the city’s finest, in fact. Here…
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Naughty Naughty

How one photographers secret stash fell foul of 19th century morality I was in The National Archives in February 2020 and found the allure of the microfilm readers too much to resist. So I picked up a reel, loaded it onto the reader, and took a punt to see what was on it. It was…
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Five Things to See at the Cemitério de Agramonte

Porto, also known as Porto Cale (‘warm port’, in modern translation) in Roman times, is the city that gave Portugal its name. It’s a lovely city, albeit one that has probably surrendered a little too much to the needs of the tourists. Wanting to see a little more of its culture, I turned to one…
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Historic London!

Things have been a little quiet for Cemetery Club this year, and there is a reason why. Well, two reasons. Caring duties for a parent being a key one. BUT. The second reason, which is more pertinent, is that earlier this year I was approached by Hoxton Mini Press to write a book on historic…
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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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