St Dunstan's Church, Middlesex

 St Dunstan's Church, Cranford, Middlesex

Visited May 2019

It's ages since I visited this church, and I've only just remembered to dig out the photos. Situated by a busy road, on a western section of the London Loop, is this lovely little church with a wealth of history. When I visited - while walking the Loop - I was fortunate to find a volunteer guide waiting to show me round. I mean, she wasn't waiting for me particularly, but there were no other visitors so I had her to myself.

The church used to be part of the Cranford Estate, and is near to the stable blocks (very little else remains of the buildings)Inside there are some wonderful monuments which you might not expect in a little parish church which seems so unassuming from the outside. But this was once owned by the Knights Templar and then the Knights Hospitalier, before being manorial land. My favourite is possibly that of Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley (died 1635) who is depicted lying beneath the memorial tablet in her shroud. 

Out in the churchyard are a number of gravestones, including some memento mori and (although I managed to miss it...) a memorial to the late, great, comedian Tony Hancock. 

If it wasn't for the constant sounds of the nearby motorway and Heathrow airport, this would seem an idyllic country church and if you find yourself in this area you really must visit!

The Aston Tomb

Memorial to Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley

Memorial to William Smythe

St Alfege Church, Greenwich

St Alfege Churchyard, Greenwich

Visited November 2020

This splendid building on the main street in Greenwich is a Georgian baroque church built on the site where St Alfege, Archbishop of Canterbury, was killed by the Danes in 1012CE, and where a church was built shortly afterwards. It was the first of 6 London churches built by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Christopher Wren, in the early 18th century after the roof of the old church collapsed. That old church was where Henry VIII was baptised - there's a lot of history going on at this site!

The church has a churchyard with stones (many clearly moved and lined up) around it. On the side away from the main street is St Alfege's park, formerly part of the burial ground, which contains a number of stones around the walls and some chest tombs and other graves in situ. The crypt is accessed from outside the church on both sides (although it's not open of course!) with over 1000 burials in there in 64 vaults. Grates around the base of the church give a little view inside. It's a beautiful place, with a lovely park behind, away from the hustle and bustle of Greenwich but only minutes walk to Cutty Sark or the park.                                                                         

    

St Mary Northgate Burial Ground, Canterbury

 Remains of St Mary Northgate Burial Ground, Canterbury

Visited October 2020

Found unexpectedly while wandering in Canterbury - a small park at the junction of Military Road and Broad Street, once a graveyard for the parish of St Mary Northgate, which contains some very weathered gravestones, and a few chest tombs at the other end. For what appears to be a full list, with photographs and transcripts of each, see here. The church is a little bit away from the burial ground, but as it was always among houses the burial ground was separated from it. The burial ground was in use until 1856, although many of the remaining stones (grouped together in the 1960s when the area was turned into a small park) are older, with a number of skulls and other memento mori still visible. The church itself was in use until 1912, and is now part of a school.

This isn't worth going out of your way for - there are plenty of amazing sights which make a trip to Canterbury very worthwhile indeed, but if you happen to be passing then make sure you take a look!

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery (2020)

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, London

Visited July 2020

There is little more I can say about this lovely cemetery, one of my local ones, that I haven't said in previous blog posts. It's the first time I've visited in the height of summer, and as well as the gravestones, the memorials, the history, it turns out this is also a brilliant place to see butterflies in South East London. We were also lucky enough to see a hobby with its prey up a nearby tree while we paused to eat lunch. All of this, alongside the wonderful fungi found here every autumn, makes it a nature lover's paradise as well as a gravestone lover's paradise. Perfect!

St Nicholas, Deptford

Churchyard of St Nicholas, Deptford

Visited Sept 2020

The first thing you notice about the churchyard are the wonderful skull and crossbones on the gateposts of the entrance. Local legend says they were the inspiration behind the skull and crossbones on the pirate's jolly roger flag, but there's no evidence for that. They were put there in the late 17th or early 18th century as memento mori.

The walled churchyard dates to the late 17th century, ust inside the churchyard is the old charnel house. The site was in use for burials much longer than that. There's been a church on the site since at least the late 12th century, and in 1593 it's where the playwright Christopher Marlowe was buried. The site of his burial is now marked by a modern marble plaque on the wall. The current church dates to the late 17th century, when the old church was pulled down and this larger one built, with modern repairs and additions, although the base of the tower is older.

As with many churchyards, it's been cleared of most of the old burials. Only a few gravestones and monuments survive, many quite weathered, compared to what would have been present in its heyday. There are also some memorial and dedication plaques mounted on the external wall of the church itself. The survival of the 17th century walls, charnel house and skull topped gateposts are unique in London and well worth a visit.

The old charnel house, now used as a storeroom and workshop