Pokrov Cemetery, Riga, Latvia

Pokrov Cemetery, Riga, Latvia

Visited July 2016

Adjoining the Great Cemetery of Riga (see earlier post on that one) the Pokrov Cemetery is the burial place of the Russian inhabitants of Riga having been opened in 1773 when Latvia was part of the Russian Empire. The current church dates from 1879, the previous one having burnt down in 1875.

The cemetery is still the main burial place of the Russian community in Riga, and is managed by the Latvian Orthodox Church. Burials were suspended between 1964 and 1991, but now continue. Most of the graves, however, appear to date from the 19th century.

The site is very wooded and feels rural despite being minutes from one of the main tram lines in the city. The old graves are mixed with the new, and there's a real feeling of age and calm to the place. Most impressive is the area with the war graves, and the rather magnificent war memorial featuring an over-lifesize gold-painted Russian solder holding his gun and flag, a genuine piece of Communist art!

Camberwell Old Cemetery, London

Camberwell Old Cemetery, Southwark, London

Visited January 2013

I’ve already blogged a couple of times about this cemetery, but one day it snowed and I set off there (and onwards to Nunhead, see earlier blog entry) with my camera. I stayed on the main paths, and didn’t venture into the older, more overgrown areas, so I’m afraid my photos aren’t as atmospheric as they could be. Another time, maybe.

St George’s Gardens, London

St George’s Gardens, Camden, London

Visited August 2014

Now a landscaped garden, St George’s Gardens near Kings Cross started life as the burial ground for two central London churches. St George’s Bloomsbury is a Hawksmoor church just off New Oxford Street (Hawksmoor also designed the layout of the burial ground), and St George the Martyr stands on Queen Square. The burial ground was one of the first church burial grounds which was not established next to the church it served. The two churches used separate areas of the cemetery, and a row of marker stones can still be seen dividing the two.

The first burial took place in 1715, and the memorial is still extant. Robert Nelson was a commissioner for building the Fifty New Churches as well as a philanthropist and lay churchman. This encouraged others to use the burial ground, despite its remoteness from the churches, and it was finally closed in 1855. It reopened in 1890 as a public garden, and has been one ever since.

The cemetery has some gruesome episodes in its history. It was here that the recorded case of grave robbing which ended in an indictment took place, in 1777 when the gravedigger and his assistant were jailed for the theft of the body of Mrs Jane Sainsbury from her grave. The cemetery is also the final resting place for Jacobites who were hung drawn and quartered on Kennington Common in 1746, after the defeat at Culloden. A plaque, which I must go back and photograph, reads

“In memory of the officers and gentlemen of the army of Prince Charles Edward Stuart who were executed on Kennington Common in July, August and November 1746. Nine of the Manchester Regiment and seven Scots are buried here. Francis Towneley. Colonel of the Manchester Regiment lies buried in the churchyard of Old St Pancras Church. Tandem Triumphans. The 1745 Association.”

Unlike a number of gardens which have been cleared of their burials, often with just a few stones propped up around boundary walls, St George’s Gardens embrace their past usage with quite a number of tombs still in situ. One of the most important is that of Anna Gibson, the grand-daughter of Oliver Cromwell.

St John-at-Hampstead Churchyard

St John-at-Hampstead Churchyard, Hampstead, North London

Visited June 2016

Hampstead always feels more like an English country village than a part of the sprawling London suburbs, and this churchyard (and its extension) do nothing to change that.

Go along Church Lane, and the church and old churchyard is on the left hand side of the road, with the extension (opened in 1812) across the road. Parts near the entrance to the churchyard are well manicured, the rest is a bit more overgrown and nature abounds – squirrels in particular – as the two sites are Sites of Nature Conservancy Interest. Most of the graves are from the 19^th century, up to the 20^th century in the newer part, although there are some older ones dotted around.

There are some well-known burials in the churchyard, in particular the tomb of the artist John Constable. Also, look out for the grave of a local Pearly King and Queen in the extension. I could write lots more about the site and the burials, but this lovely article in the local paper, the Ham & High, tells it better than I could: http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/heritage/hampstead_parish_churchyard_tells_stories_of_those_who_matter_1_833317

Mortlach Churchyard, Dufftown, Scotland

Mortlach Churchyard, Dufftown, Highlands

Visited August 2016

Mortlach church, on the outskirts of Dufftown (a town in the Highlands more famous for its whisky distilleries than anything else) is one of the oldest sites of continuous Christian worship in Scotland, with a church being founded here around 566AD. The current church dates to the Victorian period, but apparently contains older memorials from former churches on the site. Sadly the church is kept locked outside of services, so I wasn't able to view these.

The churchyard is mainly 19th and 20th century, and has been extended to a cemetery down the hill from it. There are a few older gravestones, and in the lower part of the churchyard there is a Pictish stone known as the Battle Stone - you need to visit when the light is good to see it properly, I didn't and so can't say first hand what's on it! There's apparently also one inside the church, along with a stained glass window showing Pictish beasts.

In the churchyard there's a 19th century watchman's hut, built so a watchman could guard recent burials from grave robbers, although it's locked up now - hopefully those services are no longer required!

Camberwell Old Cemetery

Camberwell Old Cemetery, Southwark, London

Visited July 2016

I've visited Camberwell Old Cemetery before and not been very complementary about it, but this time I decided to venture a bit off the beaten track into the overgrown areas, and it's lovely! You can't get off the tracks very much as it's all overgrown and bits are fenced off for Japanese knotweed removal. There are plans afoot to try to clear some of these areas for new burials, which is a disgrace, surely. The wildlife, the history, the people who are buried there - all of these deserve to be left alone, rather than be swept away for a money making scheme, which is all this can be.

Anyway, if you're in the area I highly recommend that you head down some of the tracks into the woods. I didn't see anyone else while I wandered, despite the cemetery being on the Green Chain, and it was a spot of complete solitude. Lovely.