Highgate Cemetery, London

Highgate Cemetery is is in no way an abandoned or forgotten cemetery, but indeed it is a sleeping beauty.

Highgate Cemetery was one of seven cemeteries built in London in early 18oo's, after Victorians realized burial conditions had become intolerable due to overcrowding. In 1839 the London Cemetery Company opened this 17.5 acre cemetery to alleviate the strain. The government hoped that companies would now be encouraged to build bigger and better grounds to accommodate the bodies. Highgate’s grandiose layout was designed by architect Stephen Geary and landscape gardener David Ramsay. The Victorians responded in kind by building some of the most flamboyant tombs in London. Highgate, soon became a fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. The Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. By 1875 a 19.5 acre extension was added.

The cemetery's grounds are full of trees, shrubbery and wild flowers; all of which have been planted and grown without human influence. The grounds are a haven for birds and small animals such as foxes. The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The newer eastern section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.

Famous graves include those of Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, George Eliot and 18 Royal Academicians, six Lord Mayors of London and 48 Fellows of the Royal Society