Lockdown : Cemeteries of South London

From end March to June the UK, like the rest of the world, has been in lockdown. I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of a few cemeteries, although in the first 5 weeks of lockdown we could only go out for an hour a day, and the cemeteries were shut. But I could still walk past, and later on I could go further afield, albeit still only on foot, and got a few more shots. 

While I did full visits to a few (Nunhead & West Norwood in particular), these ones were simply passed through or walked past as part of a longer walk, but I thought it worthwhile documenting where I'd been...

Camberwell Old Cemetery (late March)

Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery (early April)

Camberwell Old Cemetery, mid-May

Nunhead Cemetery, mid-May

Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery (late May bank holiday)

St Mary's Church, Lewisham (late May)

St Nicholas Churchyard, Deptford, gates only (mid-May)

Dulwich Old Burial Ground (31 May)

West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood Cemetery, London

Visited June 2020

Another of my local 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries alongside Nunhead - the only two south of the Thames, this is one of my favourite places to walk. On a rainy Sunday in early June, with lockdown still - sort of - in place, there were few people around. Some areas had been left to go a bit wild, in a good way, with cow parsley hiding smaller headstones, while around some paths which have previously been overgrown, such as Ship Path, careful cutting back had been done to reveal graves and keep paths open. More birds than usual could be heard, and in one of the loveliest moments I surprised, or was surprised by, a young fox having a nap on a grave. It ran off as soon as it woke up enough to realise I was close by, but moments like this remind me of how wild a city London is at heart, and that graveyards are spaces to be inhabited not only by the dead, but by the living too.

West Kennet Long Barrow

West Kennet Long Barrow

visited February 2020

Catching up with posting while we're still sort of in lockdown, I came to these images of one of my favourite places. As an archaeologist I've always been fascinated by neolithic burial mounds. The way they proudly stand out in the landscape, rather than hiding away - surely long barrows are our ancestor's equivalent of the pyramids, shaping the landscape around the dead? And as an added bonus, having read Tolkien so frequently, there's always the tantalising prospect of barrow wights lurking in sites like these, where the mound and chambers are still in place.

West Kennet long barrow, near Avebury, was built over 5000 years ago, perhaps for the burial of some of those who built the vast circles and henges of Avebury, or the mysterious mound of Silbury Hill. The landscape around here is dotted with barrows, monuments and ancient pathways (the Ridgeway is close by).

On a grey February day, just weeks before everything was turned upside down, but days after flood warnings were covering most of this area, I set out from London to Avebury via Swindon, and from there walked down the West Kennet Avenue, past Silbury Hill and up to West Kennet Long Barrow. I'd last been here almost 30 years previously as a baby archaeologist in first year at university, when we did a tour of the west country - Stonehenge, Cheddar Gorge, Avebury, all the usual suspects. This time I was on my own, and thanks to the persistent drizzle, grey skies, and soggy ground there was hardly anyone even at Avebury itself. I walked along along the Avenue, and up the hill to the barrow where there was just me and a whole flock of crows. Something quite simple yet meaningful about that. 

Inside the burial chamber there was silence. Someone had left some flowers on a small ledge, and the rain had left a puddle just inside. I retreated to the furthest corner, switched off the torch on my phone, and sat on the damp ground for I don't know how long. I'm not a religious person, but this was a spiritual moment that left me ready for the day, and months ahead. Perhaps someone who can sit alone inside a 3000 year old burial mound is someone ready to face months away from other people?

I had planned to visit other sites in the area - the Sanctuary, some of the round barrows on hills nearby - but the mud and the rain and the time I spent at West Kennet put paid to that, so I walked back along the River Kennet, past Silbury Hill again, and back to the stones of Avebury. One day I'll go back again and walk the whole route, and stop again at West Kennet.

St Bartholomew's, Sydenham

Churchyard of St Bartholomew's, Sydenham

Visited May 2020

St Bartholomew's church on Westwood Hill, Sydenham, South London was built in the early part of the 19th century, completed in 1832 and restored/modified since. It's surrounded by a small but peaceful churchyard, which understandably is mostly Victorian in date. There are a few large monuments, including the ornate grave of Charles English, first vicar of the Parish, and the 1853 tomb of Robert and Elizabeth Harrild.

The main memorial in the churchyard, near the entrance, is the Workmen's Grave. This is where 10 men who died in the construction of the Crystal Palace in 1853, when scaffolding collapsed. This happened when the building was moved from Hyde Park to the area of Sydenham now known as Crystal Palace (at the other end of Westwood Hill). I've photographed the information board beside it, and included that image here. The grave was restored and rededicated in 2003, the 150th anniversary of the accident.