Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery 2017

Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery, London

Visited October 2017

This cemetery used to be two cemeteries, as already discussed in this post. 

It might not be the largest or most magnificent of Victorian cemeteries, but on a sunny autumn day, with very few people around (except a few dog-walkers), this was a glorious place to walk around. All the reds and oranges of the leaves and berries seemed to be out in force: perhaps not surprisingly, the cemetery is a Borough Importance Grade 1 site for nature conservation.

York Cemetery

York Cemetery, York

Visited January 2017

York cemetery is about a 10-15 minute walk out of the city centre, south of the main attractions and city walls. It was founded in 1837, and is still in use for burials today, although there was a period in the mid-20th century when it fell into neglect, as with so many large Victorian urban cemeteries..


It's grade II* listed, and I reckon that in spring or summer it is a beautiful place, but when I visited on a damp, grey January day over a year ago it had a strange, deserted air to it. Sections of the Victorian part were closed off due to path works, and as it was quite late in the afternoon (for a winter's day, anyway), I rushed round with the odd feeling that I could be locked in at any time. Paranoid, me? So it sounds like a return visit is in order for me, perhaps on a sunny day, and this time I will hope to be able to follow one or more of the self-guided walks available on the cemetery's website

Arnos Vale Cemetery at night

Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol

After Hours tour, October 2017

On the same day I visited Arnos Vale cemetery by day I also went on a night time guided tour. These After Hours tours are run by volunteers and are very well attended - pre-booking is essential. There's a small fee (£10), but it's well worth it!

We went around by torchlight, among the memorials in the landscaped and wooded areas, as well as down to the mortuary crypt to end the tour, with a guide who was super-knowledgeable about the cemetery and about burial customs. It was very atmospheric, particularly as I was there the night before Halloween. Well worth doing if you possibly can.



St Andrews Cathedral, Fife

St Andrews Cathedral, Fife, Scotland

Visited August 2017

There's been a religious building on this site in St Andrews since the 8th century. The Catholic cathedral itself was build in the 12th -14th centuries, but fell into ruin in the 16th century during the Reformation, after John Knox preached in the town against the Roman Catholic faith. The ruins are still magnificent, and free to enter (there's an entrance fee for the museum, which houses an amazing collection of carved stones from the Pictish onwards).

Most of the grounds outside the cathedral are given over to the graveyard, which has been in use for centuries. Most of the graves are from the 18th-19th centuries (the oldest are, of course, now housed in the museum), although a few older ones remain. A survey of the gravestones was carried out in 1978 and a scanned copy of the report can be found here: http://www.tafac.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/TAFAJ-Vol-4-15-St-Andrews-Cathedral-graveyard-survey-Proudfoot-Downham-Nickell.pdf

Among the gravestones are some splendid carvings - look out for what appears to be a skeleton in a hammock - and of course graves of some of golf's great and good of the 19th century.

St George's Churchyard, Deal

St George's Churchyard, Deal, Kent

Visited April 2017

The churchyard behind St George's Church, Deal, has largely been cleared to form a park. The gravestones have, as is so often the case, been lined up around the walls with only a few of the larger chest and table tombs left 'in situ' on the lawns. This was done in the 1950s, when the churchyard became a Garden of Rest (if an area full of dog-walkers and passers-by can be restful!).


Closer to the church itself there are some gravestones which haven't been moved, and which are surrounded by well-tended gardens.


The church was dedicated in 1715, with burials stopping in 1856 - this means lots of early stones with memento mori carvings, which are not too overwhelmed with Victorian and later memorials.