The cemetery was abandoned by the company that owned it and it fell into disrepair. In the 1970s a group of volunteers formed the 'friends of Highgate Cemetery' who set about restoring it. They still manage it today.
Michael Faraday a British inventor and scientist, invented the first Electric motor in the year 1821, and in 1830 he discovered how to convert mechanical energy into electricity.
Litvenenko is still radioactive and is buried in lead because of that, the tour guide told us that’s highly unusual in a ‘dirt burial’ but obviously necessary.
It is massive. We went to the west side and it took hours, didn't even have time to go to the newer part. When we went they didn't allow people to wonder around on their own because parts of it are collapsing and you could fall through to a tomb. Guided tour was very interesting. They filmed a lot of the Dracula movies there in the 70's.
I did this as well when I was in London for a relative's funeral. It was beautiful. I did not do much else, Highgate and Kew Gardens with its blooming narcissus just somehow fit the sad reason for the visit.
Catacombs are networks of underground tunnels used as burial places. There are catacombs in Paris and Rome that you can visit. I have visited the Paris ones which they built to house the bones from other cemeteries when they became full. The French resistance used them in the 2nd world war to hide and move around the city.
@@reactingtomyroots it’s pretty creepy to be honest as all the bones and skulls are stacked around the walls and arranged in patterns and there are thousands of them.
I also like cemeteries and love looking at the old headstones. On holiday in Cyprus one time I spent 2 full weeks restoring several British graves that had been left in a bad state.
I agree with you Steve allowing nature to have a free hand in places, compliments the cemetery perfectly, and as for ghosts, I grew up in southern England, in the village I grew up in my house backed into ancient woodland, I spent much of my summer holidays in the woods and meadows around, always had to be in before sunset, on a number of occasions, as I returned home through the woods and just before sundown, I would see the apparition of a man playing a flute, dressed in Georgian attire, tri cornered hat ,long leather coat, best to,he walk right past me playing his flute and paying no heed to me ,he always vanished just before leaving the woods before entering the field that led to my home , anyway fast forward 20 years , I was living in town ,and my son wanted me to take him camping, I knew that my childhood home had a sign ,campers welcome, thought it would be lovely to spend a few days around the countryside I grew up in , whilst erecting the tent the owners 10 year old son came over to welcome us and not to be startled by the ghost, went on to describe the Georgian flutist exactly as I remember him, convinced me that ghosts are real.
My Dad would say if the people buried in graveyard. "You don't need to worry about them in there lass, it's the live ones in street you worry about"! Always been interested. Our ancestors. Ecclesiastes 9:1-10.🕊️
Very interesting post. I recall one visit to Highgate many years ago and whilst wandering around the east side I came across a grave stone of a couple whose name I forget, but the inscription struck me, as the wife died on 31 December 1899 and the husband died on 1 January 1900 - a day part and yet in different centuries. ❤
That tunnel with columns and ferns is the Egyptian Avenue of the Dead. True story: I was visiting in winter in a small party of 10, I was last in the party, had turned around to photograph back down the Egyptian Avenue when I photographed a ghost. I when I viewed and clicked the camera there was no-one there. The image only showed up later. I'll PM it to you if you like. My favourite monument there has to be the sleeping lion on the tomb of the menagerist George Wombwell. The narrator isn't the best, he has not described it well. But on the upside, there is so much more to discover when you visit. I recommend a guided tour, those guys are so knowledgeable.
I’ve started to return to your videos because through your eyes you are gradually making me view my own country with fresh vision and wonderment. Thank you. You genuinely seem to want to widen your sphere of knowledge. Just a little tip here,I was confused when you asked “Are they all grown up like that?” A little later I realised what you meant. In the UK, when grass and plants take over in a neat garden (or even a cemetery) we usually say it is overgrown.
Military personnel killed in action have distinctive graves carved from white Portland stone. Each grave will feature the deceased's regimental or service crest. These graves are administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Maybe - Pre-Raphaelites? (Just helping out . . .The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti . .. )
@@reactingtomyroots I would recommend you book one of the guided tours for the West cemetery (I think you have to these days) the East cemetery is open to self guided walks - just buy a timed entry ticket.
The best known grave for modern times is that of singer GEORGE MICHAEL beside his mother and sister.the tour guides are not allowed to point out certain graves,but there is always a member of the public who can guide you in the rjght direction
If you tour the British Isles and Ireland you will find graves and tombs going back as far as the Neolithic period . I think you will also enjoy Westminster cathedral with many famous kings and Queens and their effigies, some going back to William the Conqueror a.d 1066 . Have a great time .
A bit further as the Saxon King Edward the Confessor is buried there (he commissioned the Palace of Westminster and the adjoining, then Benedictine, abbey). Edward died in 1065. It might only add a year but I like that it predates the current line of kings and queens.
@@reactingtomyroots Brompton cemetery in Earls Court is worth checking out in person. History, culture all there. The catacombs area. Lots of social history in the people buried there.
Hi Steve, My wife and I have been there it's beautiful and so peaceful and yes you definitely need a few days to go around it, The oldest we found was 1693
By the early part of the 1800s, London's population had greatly increased. So much so that the graveyards around the churches had become full so seven great cemeteries on the outskirts of London were created of which Highgate was one. There are few ancient burials in these cemeteries but the Victorian preoccupation with death accounts for the highly decorated and gothic tombstones. In the 1970s I spent many hours at Highgate, well before there was an entrance fee and before the graves were being tidied, many were falling apart so coffins and sometimes even bones were visible.
Of the magnificent seven, I'd really recommend Abney Cemetery. It's close to highgate, smaller, free and several times more (purposefully) overgrown. It's an absolutely magical place! The tomb stones lurk out of the undergrowth, the forest is dense with tiny paths snaking through it with a small disused church hiding in its centre.
You should looking into the Highgate vampire and other UK myths for Halloween! Westminster abbey is very old dating to the 900s, the first king there was Edward the confessor 1066.
My father died suddenly aged 54 in 1989. He’s buried in Hendon cemetery- also north London. It covers 42 acres so you need a map! We have some enormous cemeteries in London.
I don’t know what brought me to your videos but I love them! Love that you have such interest in your ancestors. We are all related far back enough in any case and borders are just man made concepts. Hope you get to visit all you wish to x
The Urn with a shroud are very common memorials in old graveyards, there are lots of them in my local cemetery. I've never been to Highgate, ...yet,!, again my local cemetery the older part is overgrown during spring and summer, to protect wildlife and nesting birds
Hi mate, please come over to the UK. You would be very welcome. London is a crazy place, so a good idea to see other parts of the UK which are green, historical and lots of beauty.
Highgate is one of seven Victorian cemeteries built around London to cope with London’s growing population and overflowing parish burial grounds, these cemeteries were known as The Magnificent Seven. My local one is called Nunhead cemetery and like Highgate large parts of it are a nature reserve, l have taken my dogs there for long walks in the past. The place just oozes with Victorian history and you just can’t help yourself from stopping and reading the inscriptions on the tombstones .
Michael Faraday is a famous British scientist. There is a statue of him in Savoy Place in London. He has various places and schools named after him and my house name at school (Ernest Bevin secondary in Tooting, SW London) was Faraday.
The Tomb of Karl Marx stands in the Eastern cemetery of Highgate Cemetery, North London, England. It commemorates the burial sites of Marx, of his wife, Jenny von Westphalen, and other members of his family. Originally buried in a different part of the Eastern cemetery, the bodies were disinterred and reburied at their present location in 1954. The tomb was designed by Laurence Bradshaw and was unveiled in 1956, in a ceremony led by Harry Pollitt, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which funded the memorial.
I believe Highgate Cemetery covers 37 acres. The catacombs are underground. There are enormous catacombs in Paris and Rome. There may be others that I've never heard of. Roland Hill was the Postmaster General in Victorian times when the first postage stamp, the Penny Black was issued. The earliest burial was Elizabeth Jackson 1839.
When I was a student in London in the early 1970s, we hosted a group of students from the USSR. We had to take them to Highgate Cemetery so that they could lay flowers on Karl Marx’s grave.
This is somewhere I haven't explored. I'm only aware of Highgate as being the final resting place of Karl Marx. I'd love to have a wander around this place. I have also had a lifelong fascination for cemeteries and old churchyards. This is a really interesting episode. I'm learning from you today.
I thought it was a little unfair to say that Karl Marx was “responsible for more misery than most”. He was a philosopher. You wouldn’t say that about Nietzsche.
@@AlBarzUK Thanks for standing up for Marx. If we had taken up more of his ideas the world would be a happier fairer place. I thought the OPs comment was disgusting.
My primery school was built next to a cemetery ,the original part of the school was a boys school that had a detached rugby pitch on one side of the public foot path that lead to the old part of of the cemetery and the foot ball pitch and play ground was on the other side of the foot path and backed onto part of the cemetery ,both are 100s of years old .I remember looking out of my classroom windows seeing movement in the old grave yard and my imagination would see spooks and specter wandering amongst the graves. As the years have gone on the local council has sold the old Chapel and wardens house in that part of the cemetery and there is a family living in the wardens gate house that is the original entrance to the cemetery ,and there is an accounting company working from the old white Chapel it has been modernised by surrounding the delicate stones with toughened glass it makes it look like its an exhibit in a museum.
Always happy to meet a fellow taphophile. My wife and I were at Highgate last Friday 10/14 and it is everything you expect and more. We had been to the East Cemetery before but the West Cemetery is the more atmospheric. Addams family vibe if you take my meaning. It's easily reached from London by Tube in about 20 minutes but worlds away. Hope you get there.
Highgate Cemetery ranks up there as one of the world's most amazing cemeteries, along with Pere Lachaise in Paris and Arlington in the US. It's somewhere I'd love to visit (ironic, since I was born near there - I moved away from London when I was a kid). It contains many of the UK's most famous people. Some of the more famous ones mentioned in the video were the Rossetti family of painters and poets, and Sir Michael Faraday, the scientist who discovered electromagnetism. The cemetery was founded in the 1830s.
It is in London...........near me, my son was born in Highgate..............not the cemetery.............l was surprised they charge..............lt is massive........lots of famous people there............
You'll find a lot of large cemeteries in England like southern cemetery in Manchester, you'll also find a lot of the older churches have graveyards in them, some of those go back centuries, your visit is going to be a long one if you want to do everything you say, enjoy your visit
Thanks for the recommendation. Oh I know it would take me forever to do all I want to do. Hopefully the first time I visit will be close to a month. I have to come up with the funds first to be able to do that. LOL
Not far from where I live is Philips Park Cemetery( Manchester ) - one of the garrison that defended Rourke's Drift is buried there - he won the Victoria Cross for his part in the battle against the Zulus .
@@mikeriordan6940 You're spot on - first I'd heard that some cemetery's charge - the nearest cemetery to me is Failsworth and I walk my dogs there every other day - no charge !
I was half expecting Jeremy Beadle to appear holding a microphone, and malcolm McLaren ex manager of the sex pistols amongst other things. Great reaction thanks
The old side of the cemetery looks overgrown but it used to be a lot more so. At one time it had been pretty much abandoned, gates locked and completely unmaintained. It was taken over by a preservation group during the mid 1970s but was still closed to the public except for occasional open days where a guide took you around. I remember going to one of these in the early 1980s where many of the paths were hardly visible. It's a pity that this video missed out on a lot of the most interesting and unique tombs including the one of Bostock, the lion tamer with a lifesize lion carved in marble on top of it, and the one of Harry Thornton a pianist who died in 1918 and has a full sized grand piano on his tomb. He pointed out the Rosetti graves but missed out the spine chilling story about the midnight exhumation of Rosetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddal in 1869.
You should have a look for the London Necropolis.. (from wikipedia) Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
@@reactingtomyroots Brookwood Cemetery is around the corner from where I live now, within walking distance. You can easily get lost in it. I live near what was the old asylum. It looks like Bertha Mason’s about to set fire to the place on a warm, balmy summer’s evening. Very Gothic, like the Houses of Parliament. There’s a row of houses that are still around from when the asylum built homes for the attendants. The town houses still survive, as does their name, but I’m not sure I’d like to live in, “Asylum Terrace”, nowadays. The asylum was a nice place to be unwell - it had its own farm, with sheep, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, vegetable crops, an arboretum, carp lakes and a sprung dance floor, which is now a day nursery for under fives. My house seems to have been built on the dump for broken crockery and glass bottles. I’ve found jars with, “County Asylum”, painted on them. There’s lots of roads named after towns in the Crimea near here, too, as it was once a training ground for soldiers before they disembarked to fight.
worked in Jarrow Cemetary nr Newcastle as a volunteer clearing undergrowth struck me as to the number of children's dates I found life expectancy was not good before modern medicine
Not too far away, our local one had a fair amount of 70, 80 and 90 year olds, but also a lot of children. My grandma was one of 6. Only 2 made it over 5 and into adulthood. At least in our local one, it seemed if you made it to adulthood, you stood a good chance of living a ling life. The challenge was making it through childhood, especially early childhood. That's in a village though, not near a city like Jarrow. Disease and cramped conditions won't have helped. I have ancestry from Newcastle and they lived in conditions, no one should have to live in
Catercombes in the UK are normally found in castles and old country home . Originally they were Niches cut intothe outer walls ofthe castle four orfive high where the coffins were placed then bricked in . Those you are looking at are built above ground and as you can see there rooms with possible three coffins to each wall .they were a cheaper option to a Moresorlieam these were the result of the Spirilist faze where people thought that you could be reincarnated or the time people had a fear of being buried alive .normally there was a bell on the outside that can be rung from the inside to alert the cematrys guard
Hi Steve its Russell from Yorkshire England. Checkout uttley cemetery. Keighley England there is a mausoleum there with a chapel on top .the cemetery is victorian .its cool. Best wishes from Russell 😊.
Highgate Cemetery in north London, England is 36 acres in size. It's divided into two parts, the East and West cemeteries, which contain around 53,000 graves for about 170,000 people. Highgate Cemetery is known for its architecture, which has evolved over time from gardens to woodland. It's also a nature reserve and is listed as a Grade I site on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The cemetery is managed by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, a charity. Some highlights of Highgate Cemetery include: The Egyptian Avenue The Circle of Lebanon The Mausoleum of Julius Beer The graves of famous people, including Karl Marx, George Eliot, Malcolm McLaren, George Michael, Christina Rossetti, and Michael Faraday
I hope it's free to visit if your relative is there and you want to visit the grave. Some of these are beautiful memorials to people. It's sad to think at the same time as a lot of these, there were people being buried in unmarked graves as their family couldn't afford a grave stone. No less loved, just different financial circumstances.
There used to be a necropolis railway in London. When they couldn't fit the dead in the city people got buried outside and they would travel on a train. They would hold the funeral ceremony in the carriage and you would have the burial at the destination. The railway was distroyed during the war but you can still see the old front of the London station!
as far as I remember Mausoleums, are above ground, and Catacombs and Vaults are Below ground. there are many many cemeteries and grave yards in the UK, some over 1000 years, you may find looking into Barrows (ancient burial sites) interesting, a very popular UK TV program when i was growing up was "Time Team" where teams of archaeologists would go to a site and do a 48 hour dig to see what they can find and use technology. I have not seen any convincing evidence of the supernatural
37 acres Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. ... Highgate Cemetery. Details Owned by Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust Size 15 hectares (37 acres) No. of graves 53,000+ No. of interments 170,000 7 more rows
Glasgows Necropolis (city of the dead) might be of interest to you. It is built on a hill from which you can see Glasgow Cathedral and has a great view of Glasgow in part. All the best to you and yours. Rab
Just come across this video. Fun fact: The word mausoleum comes from King Mausolus (died 353 BC) of Halicarnassus (then part of the Greek world), who built his tomb there. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
I think it looks overgrown because the company that owned it (it isn't connected to a church) went bankrupt in the 60's or 70's and was locked and left. It is now run by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery. Oldest grave in there is from the 1860's. One of my local churches was built in the 1100's so we have some older graves than Highgate.
You might enjoy "Highgate Cemetery and Pub Walk - London Walking Tour" video on channel Joolz Guides. Joolz leads guided walking tours around London. He's such a hoot. I'm sure you would enjoy his videos and, if you're actually going over there, it seems like booking a tour would add to your explorations ☺
I've only just recently found your channel so bit late responding to this video. I was a nurse for 25 years mostly doing hospice and end of life care. I've seen some very strange occurancces and things I can't explain so yes I kind of believe in ghosts or maybe I just believe that there are things beyond our understanding. And I definitely do believe that we go somewhere else after we die
Three cemeteries worth visiting as well as Highgate are Glasgow's Necropolis in Scotland, Southern Cemetery in Manchester and also Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin Ireland. Glasnevin has a film made about it called One Million Dubliners. The Cemetery at Glasnevin has a museum, coffee shop and several tours a day. All the famous people connected to the history of Ireland are all buried there. E.g Michael Collins, Eamonn DeValera,
The Catacombs are underground in PARIS .. Full of human sculls and bones, spooky ... Many famous people buried at Highgate Cemetary .. Some graves are very old ..Very interesting .. Paula UK x
I would gues it's managed overgrowth, makes it far more beautiful than if it was pristine. As you can hear it also means there's plenty of birds around as well
I've just seen in another comment that it's around £18000 for a burial spot. I know it's a commercial world, but it's £10 just to walk around, they will be charging a congestion charge next. I wonder who has ownership of the site, I'm guessing it's a local authority.
The cemetery was abandoned by the company that owned it and it fell into disrepair. In the 1970s a group of volunteers formed the 'friends of Highgate Cemetery' who set about restoring it. They still manage it today.
Michael Faraday a British inventor and scientist, invented the first Electric motor in the year 1821, and in 1830 he discovered how to convert mechanical energy into electricity.
Faraday Cage ?
@@Itshushhush Yes ,this is the fella 👍
@@Anglo_Saxon1 Thanks ,wish the guide had been more in depth.
@@Itshushhush. The guid was a bit crap.
Litvenenko is still radioactive and is buried in lead because of that, the tour guide told us that’s highly unusual in a ‘dirt burial’ but obviously necessary.
Highgate Cemetery. 37 acres, 170,000 burials with 53,000 graves.
Wow. That's a big cemetery.
It is massive. We went to the west side and it took hours, didn't even have time to go to the newer part. When we went they didn't allow people to wonder around on their own because parts of it are collapsing and you could fall through to a tomb. Guided tour was very interesting. They filmed a lot of the Dracula movies there in the 70's.
I did this as well when I was in London for a relative's funeral. It was beautiful. I did not do much else, Highgate and Kew Gardens with its blooming narcissus just somehow fit the sad reason for the visit.
Catacombs are networks of underground tunnels used as burial places. There are catacombs in Paris and Rome that you can visit. I have visited the Paris ones which they built to house the bones from other cemeteries when they became full. The French resistance used them in the 2nd world war to hide and move around the city.
They would be so interesting to check out.
@@reactingtomyroots it’s pretty creepy to be honest as all the bones and skulls are stacked around the walls and arranged in patterns and there are thousands of them.
@@reactingtomyroots ruclips.net/video/pQJmn6z3h5Q/видео.html may be interesting.
I also like cemeteries and love looking at the old headstones. On holiday in Cyprus one time I spent 2 full weeks restoring several British graves that had been left in a bad state.
A note on Litvinenko's monument.
A broken column traditionally indicates an assassination.
I agree with you Steve allowing nature to have a free hand in places, compliments the cemetery perfectly, and as for ghosts, I grew up in southern England, in the village I grew up in my house backed into ancient woodland, I spent much of my summer holidays in the woods and meadows around, always had to be in before sunset, on a number of occasions, as I returned home through the woods and just before sundown, I would see the apparition of a man playing a flute, dressed in Georgian attire, tri cornered hat ,long leather coat, best to,he walk right past me playing his flute and paying no heed to me ,he always vanished just before leaving the woods before entering the field that led to my home , anyway fast forward 20 years , I was living in town ,and my son wanted me to take him camping, I knew that my childhood home had a sign ,campers welcome, thought it would be lovely to spend a few days around the countryside I grew up in , whilst erecting the tent the owners 10 year old son came over to welcome us and not to be startled by the ghost, went on to describe the Georgian flutist exactly as I remember him, convinced me that ghosts are real.
My Dad would say if the people buried in graveyard. "You don't need to worry about them in there lass, it's the live ones in street you worry about"! Always been interested. Our ancestors. Ecclesiastes 9:1-10.🕊️
Very interesting post. I recall one visit to Highgate many years ago and whilst wandering around the east side I came across a grave stone of a couple whose name I forget, but the inscription struck me, as the wife died on 31 December 1899 and the husband died on 1 January 1900 - a day part and yet in different centuries. ❤
Officially they are both in the 19th century, as the twentieth century began on 1st January 1901. (Sorry!)
@@AlBarzUK indeed, bit we all celebrated the millennium a year early anyway
I’m not sure I would want to wander round there alone at dusk!
That tunnel with columns and ferns is the Egyptian Avenue of the Dead. True story: I was visiting in winter in a small party of 10, I was last in the party, had turned around to photograph back down the Egyptian Avenue when I photographed a ghost. I when I viewed and clicked the camera there was no-one there. The image only showed up later. I'll PM it to you if you like. My favourite monument there has to be the sleeping lion on the tomb of the menagerist George Wombwell. The narrator isn't the best, he has not described it well. But on the upside, there is so much more to discover when you visit. I recommend a guided tour, those guys are so knowledgeable.
Leaving nature to overgrow gives character I think. Also, in the middle of a city, allows wild life to flourish despite people making use of the land.
Love watching you insightful videos , looking for many more to come . British fan
I’ve started to return to your videos because through your eyes you are gradually making me view my own country with fresh vision and wonderment. Thank you. You genuinely seem to want to widen your sphere of knowledge. Just a little tip here,I was confused when you asked “Are they all grown up like that?” A little later I realised what you meant. In the UK, when grass and plants take over in a neat garden (or even a cemetery) we usually say it is overgrown.
Same here ,Steve has made me feel proud of our beautiful little country ❤️
Michael Faraday is also very well known, Faraday cage, worked in early electronics.
Military personnel killed in action have distinctive graves carved from white Portland stone. Each grave will feature the deceased's regimental or service crest. These graves are administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Rossettie famliy were members of the per- rahaelites a group of painters, founded in 1848. Karl Marks is also bured in Highgate.
Maybe - Pre-Raphaelites? (Just helping out . . .The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti . .. )
Another great video to watch. So beautiful!! Thank you❤️
Thank you Kim. It really is a beautiful cemetery. Can't wait to visit.
This Cemetery takes days to get around it's so beautiful you would love it x
I can tell I would enjoy it. Can't wait to come for a visit one day.
@@reactingtomyroots You won’t regret it some graves take some finding
@@reactingtomyroots I would recommend you book one of the guided tours for the West cemetery (I think you have to these days) the East cemetery is open to self guided walks - just buy a timed entry ticket.
I subscribed as soon as you called the headstones and monuments 'art'. Cemeteries are some of the most beautiful and inspiring places.
The best known grave for modern times is that of singer GEORGE MICHAEL beside his mother and sister.the tour guides are not allowed to point out certain graves,but there is always a member of the public who can guide you in the rjght direction
If you tour the British Isles and Ireland you will find graves and tombs going back as far as the Neolithic period . I think you will also enjoy Westminster cathedral with many famous kings and Queens and their effigies, some going back to William the Conqueror a.d 1066 . Have a great time .
A bit further as the Saxon King Edward the Confessor is buried there (he commissioned the Palace of Westminster and the adjoining, then Benedictine, abbey). Edward died in 1065. It might only add a year but I like that it predates the current line of kings and queens.
@@lizhoward-k7627 don't think so ! southern Ireland is not British in fact it it's called the Republic of Ireland. Thanks for the lesson anyway 😊
A smaller cemetery that has some interesting burials is at West Brompton. Worth checking out.
Thanks for the recommendation. I've bookmarked it to check out.
@@reactingtomyroots Brompton cemetery in Earls Court is worth checking out in person. History, culture all there. The catacombs area. Lots of social history in the people buried there.
Hi Steve, My wife and I have been there it's beautiful and so peaceful and yes you definitely need a few days to go around it, The oldest we found was 1693
False the cemetery was not opened till 1839.
By the early part of the 1800s, London's population had greatly increased. So much so that the graveyards around the churches had become full so seven great cemeteries on the outskirts of London were created of which Highgate was one. There are few ancient burials in these cemeteries but the Victorian preoccupation with death accounts for the highly decorated and gothic tombstones. In the 1970s I spent many hours at Highgate, well before there was an entrance fee and before the graves were being tidied, many were falling apart so coffins and sometimes even bones were visible.
Just found your channel, love it ,love to watch you reaction .
Of the magnificent seven, I'd really recommend Abney Cemetery. It's close to highgate, smaller, free and several times more (purposefully) overgrown. It's an absolutely magical place! The tomb stones lurk out of the undergrowth, the forest is dense with tiny paths snaking through it with a small disused church hiding in its centre.
You should looking into the Highgate vampire and other UK myths for Halloween! Westminster abbey is very old dating to the 900s, the first king there was Edward the confessor 1066.
I find these places fascinating, we have an old cemetary in my local village it's all overgrown with ivy etc but seems to add to its charm .
My father died suddenly aged 54 in 1989. He’s buried in Hendon cemetery- also north London. It covers 42 acres so you need a map! We have some enormous cemeteries in London.
Went to Highgate last year, absolutely fascinating, and definitely a peacefull atmosphere.
I don’t know what brought me to your videos but I love them! Love that you have such interest in your ancestors. We are all related far back enough in any case and borders are just man made concepts. Hope you get to visit all you wish to x
The Urn with a shroud are very common memorials in old graveyards, there are lots of them in my local cemetery. I've never been to Highgate, ...yet,!, again my local cemetery the older part is overgrown during spring and summer, to protect wildlife and nesting birds
Hi mate, please come over to the UK. You would be very welcome. London is a crazy place, so a good idea to see other parts of the UK which are green, historical and lots of beauty.
You will have to spend at least a year in London, Steve, as there is so much to see.
Highgate cemetary has been used as a film set in a number of Hammer horror movies from the 70's
I grew up playing in the Highgate cemetaries as well as Waterlow Park, Parliament Hill Fields and Hampstead Heath.
They keep lots of our old cemeteries like that now, great for wildlife and they appear more restful and respectful for those that rest there! XXX
Highgate is one of seven Victorian cemeteries built around London to cope with London’s growing population and overflowing parish burial grounds, these cemeteries were known as The Magnificent Seven. My local one is called Nunhead cemetery and like Highgate large parts of it are a nature reserve, l have taken my dogs there for long walks in the past. The place just oozes with Victorian history and you just can’t help yourself from stopping and reading the inscriptions on the tombstones .
Oh my God. I just love Graveyards. I love the history of them. Also some have amazing trees too. I thought there hardly be anyone as crazy as me. .
Jeremy Beadle , famously ran a TV show here called Beadles About, used to watch it as a kid.
Michael Faraday is a famous British scientist. There is a statue of him in Savoy Place in London. He has various places and schools named after him and my house name at school (Ernest Bevin secondary in Tooting, SW London) was Faraday.
There are some famous names buried at Highgate, including Douglas Adams and George Eliot.
It’s massive, so many famous names.
I lived in finchley north london just down the road from Highgate
The small villages across the country have some really lovely churches and graves with so much history.
The Tomb of Karl Marx stands in the Eastern cemetery of Highgate Cemetery, North London, England. It commemorates the burial sites of Marx, of his wife, Jenny von Westphalen, and other members of his family. Originally buried in a different part of the Eastern cemetery, the bodies were disinterred and reburied at their present location in 1954. The tomb was designed by Laurence Bradshaw and was unveiled in 1956, in a ceremony led by Harry Pollitt, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which funded the memorial.
I also love a good overgrown cemetery! I find them peaceful and relaxing!
Hi again Steve, i like watching your Videos, Kind Regards,
I believe Highgate Cemetery covers 37 acres. The catacombs are underground. There are enormous catacombs in Paris and Rome. There may be others that I've never heard of. Roland Hill was the Postmaster General in Victorian times when the first postage stamp, the Penny Black was issued.
The earliest burial was Elizabeth Jackson 1839.
When I was a student in London in the early 1970s, we hosted a group of students from the USSR. We had to take them to Highgate Cemetery so that they could lay flowers on Karl Marx’s grave.
I think catacomb comes from the ancient Romans, the bodies are placed in the catacombs rather than being buried I think on shelves x
This is somewhere I haven't explored. I'm only aware of Highgate as being the final resting place of Karl Marx. I'd love to have a wander around this place. I have also had a lifelong fascination for cemeteries and old churchyards. This is a really interesting episode. I'm learning from you today.
I agree cemeteries and old churchyards are very fascinating. I'm glad you enjoyed the episode as much as I did. :)
Karl Marx had UK connections studying during the industrial revolution, and the then working conditions
@@reactingtomyroots cricket is a bat and ball sport here in the uk.
I thought it was a little unfair to say that Karl Marx was “responsible for more misery than most”. He was a philosopher. You wouldn’t say that about Nietzsche.
@@AlBarzUK Thanks for standing up for Marx.
If we had taken up more of his ideas the world would be a happier fairer place.
I thought the OPs comment was disgusting.
My primery school was built next to a cemetery ,the original part of the school was a boys school that had a detached rugby pitch on one side of the public foot path that lead to the old part of of the cemetery and the foot ball pitch and play ground was on the other side of the foot path and backed onto part of the cemetery ,both are 100s of years old .I remember looking out of my classroom windows seeing movement in the old grave yard and my imagination would see spooks and specter wandering amongst the graves. As the years have gone on the local council has sold the old Chapel and wardens house in that part of the cemetery and there is a family living in the wardens gate house that is the original entrance to the cemetery ,and there is an accounting company working from the old white Chapel it has been modernised by surrounding the delicate stones with toughened glass it makes it look like its an exhibit in a museum.
Yes i believe we are not alone we are with thw spirits
I used to live in a flat adjacent to Highgate cemetery,very atmospheric.
Oh I bet the energy surrounding that area is interesting to say the least.
Same with a friend. Used to see strange stuff from the window overlooking the cemetery.
Always happy to meet a fellow taphophile. My wife and I were at Highgate last Friday 10/14 and it is everything you expect and more. We had been to the East Cemetery before but the West Cemetery is the more atmospheric. Addams family vibe if you take my meaning. It's easily reached from London by Tube in about 20 minutes but worlds away. Hope you get there.
Highgate Cemetery ranks up there as one of the world's most amazing cemeteries, along with Pere Lachaise in Paris and Arlington in the US. It's somewhere I'd love to visit (ironic, since I was born near there - I moved away from London when I was a kid). It contains many of the UK's most famous people. Some of the more famous ones mentioned in the video were the Rossetti family of painters and poets, and Sir Michael Faraday, the scientist who discovered electromagnetism. The cemetery was founded in the 1830s.
It is in London...........near me, my son was born in Highgate..............not the cemetery.............l was surprised they charge..............lt is massive........lots of famous people there............
It a fantastic treasure.
Every tomb or grave is a book or movie for the future.
You'll find a lot of large cemeteries in England like southern cemetery in Manchester, you'll also find a lot of the older churches have graveyards in them, some of those go back centuries, your visit is going to be a long one if you want to do everything you say, enjoy your visit
Thanks for the recommendation. Oh I know it would take me forever to do all I want to do. Hopefully the first time I visit will be close to a month. I have to come up with the funds first to be able to do that. LOL
Not far from where I live is Philips Park Cemetery( Manchester ) - one of the garrison that defended Rourke's Drift is buried there - he won the Victoria Cross for his part in the battle against the Zulus .
@@mikecaine3643 you don't have to pay to visit Southern cemetery or Philips Park, in fact I'd never heard of any cemetery charging
@@mikeriordan6940 You're spot on - first I'd heard that some cemetery's charge - the nearest cemetery to me is Failsworth and I walk my dogs there every other day - no charge !
I was half expecting Jeremy Beadle to appear holding a microphone, and malcolm McLaren ex manager of the sex pistols amongst other things. Great reaction thanks
The old side of the cemetery looks overgrown but it used to be a lot more so. At one time it had been pretty much abandoned, gates locked and completely unmaintained. It was taken over by a preservation group during the mid 1970s but was still closed to the public except for occasional open days where a guide took you around. I remember going to one of these in the early 1980s where many of the paths were hardly visible. It's a pity that this video missed out on a lot of the most interesting and unique tombs including the one of Bostock, the lion tamer with a lifesize lion carved in marble on top of it, and the one of Harry Thornton a pianist who died in 1918 and has a full sized grand piano on his tomb. He pointed out the Rosetti graves but missed out the spine chilling story about the midnight exhumation of Rosetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddal in 1869.
Catacombs. an underground cemetery, especially one consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs.
City of london cemetery is huge but Beautiful and very peaceful
You should have a look for the London Necropolis.. (from wikipedia) Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
That sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. I've bookmarked it for later.
@@reactingtomyroots Brookwood Cemetery is around the corner from where I live now, within walking distance. You can easily get lost in it. I live near what was the old asylum. It looks like Bertha Mason’s about to set fire to the place on a warm, balmy summer’s evening. Very Gothic, like the Houses of Parliament. There’s a row of houses that are still around from when the asylum built homes for the attendants. The town houses still survive, as does their name, but I’m not sure I’d like to live in, “Asylum Terrace”, nowadays. The asylum was a nice place to be unwell - it had its own farm, with sheep, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, vegetable crops, an arboretum, carp lakes and a sprung dance floor, which is now a day nursery for under fives. My house seems to have been built on the dump for broken crockery and glass bottles. I’ve found jars with, “County Asylum”, painted on them. There’s lots of roads named after towns in the Crimea near here, too, as it was once a training ground for soldiers before they disembarked to fight.
George Michael is also buried along with his mother and sister in Highgate Cemetery West
They used parts of highgate cemetery to make horror films,the cemetery is absolutely huge
worked in Jarrow Cemetary nr Newcastle as a volunteer clearing undergrowth struck me as to the number of children's dates I found life expectancy was not good before modern medicine
Not too far away, our local one had a fair amount of 70, 80 and 90 year olds, but also a lot of children. My grandma was one of 6. Only 2 made it over 5 and into adulthood. At least in our local one, it seemed if you made it to adulthood, you stood a good chance of living a ling life. The challenge was making it through childhood, especially early childhood. That's in a village though, not near a city like Jarrow. Disease and cramped conditions won't have helped. I have ancestry from Newcastle and they lived in conditions, no one should have to live in
Not been here but have been to Pierre Lachaise cemetery in Paris which is on par with this one in terms of extravagant gravestones and tombs.
Catercombes in the UK are normally found in castles and old country home . Originally they were Niches cut intothe outer walls ofthe castle four orfive high where the coffins were placed then bricked in . Those you are looking at are built above ground and as you can see there rooms with possible three coffins to each wall .they were a cheaper option to a Moresorlieam these were the result of the Spirilist faze where people thought that you could be reincarnated or the time people had a fear of being buried alive .normally there was a bell on the outside that can be rung from the inside to alert the cematrys guard
Hi Steve its Russell from Yorkshire England. Checkout uttley cemetery. Keighley England there is a mausoleum there with a chapel on top .the cemetery is victorian .its cool. Best wishes from Russell 😊.
Highgate Cemetery in north London, England is 36 acres in size. It's divided into two parts, the East and West cemeteries, which contain around 53,000 graves for about 170,000 people.
Highgate Cemetery is known for its architecture, which has evolved over time from gardens to woodland. It's also a nature reserve and is listed as a Grade I site on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The cemetery is managed by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, a charity.
Some highlights of Highgate Cemetery include:
The Egyptian Avenue
The Circle of Lebanon
The Mausoleum of Julius Beer
The graves of famous people, including Karl Marx, George Eliot, Malcolm McLaren, George Michael, Christina Rossetti, and Michael Faraday
I hope it's free to visit if your relative is there and you want to visit the grave.
Some of these are beautiful memorials to people. It's sad to think at the same time as a lot of these, there were people being buried in unmarked graves as their family couldn't afford a grave stone. No less loved, just different financial circumstances.
There used to be a necropolis railway in London. When they couldn't fit the dead in the city people got buried outside and they would travel on a train. They would hold the funeral ceremony in the carriage and you would have the burial at the destination. The railway was distroyed during the war but you can still see the old front of the London station!
If you know the Christmas carol, "In the bleak midwinter' you've just seen the grave of the writer of its words, Christina Rossetti.
Went to medical school near here and worked at local hospital. Beautiful
The first burial was 1839 I do not remember the details. Long time since I went there. So serene and beautiful
as far as I remember Mausoleums, are above ground, and Catacombs and Vaults are Below ground.
there are many many cemeteries and grave yards in the UK, some over 1000 years, you may find looking into Barrows (ancient burial sites) interesting, a very popular UK TV program when i was growing up was "Time Team" where teams of archaeologists would go to a site and do a 48 hour dig to see what they can find and use technology. I have not seen any convincing evidence of the supernatural
37 acres
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries.
...
Highgate Cemetery.
Details
Owned by Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust
Size 15 hectares (37 acres)
No. of graves 53,000+
No. of interments 170,000
7 more rows
Glasgows Necropolis (city of the dead) might be of interest to you. It is built on a hill from which you can see Glasgow Cathedral and has a great view of Glasgow in part. All the best to you and yours. Rab
The black stone is probably Welsh slate.
There's a cematary called St Pancras in East finchley and its 1 3/4square miles In size
Highgate only opened in 1839.
The first burial was Elizabeth Jackson of Little Windmill Street, Soho, on 26 May 1839.
Just come across this video.
Fun fact: The word mausoleum comes from King Mausolus (died 353 BC) of Halicarnassus (then part of the Greek world), who built his tomb there. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
I think it looks overgrown because the company that owned it (it isn't connected to a church) went bankrupt in the 60's or 70's and was locked and left. It is now run by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery. Oldest grave in there is from the 1860's. One of my local churches was built in the 1100's so we have some older graves than Highgate.
Sorry to correct you but the oldest grave is much older than 1860
The first burial, on 26 May 1839, was Elizabeth Jackson aged thirty-six, of Little Windmill Street, Soho.
You might enjoy "Highgate Cemetery and Pub Walk - London Walking Tour" video on channel Joolz Guides. Joolz leads guided walking tours around London. He's such a hoot. I'm sure you would enjoy his videos and, if you're actually going over there, it seems like booking a tour would add to your explorations ☺
In my local church,Holy Trinity church, Chesterfield, George Stephenson is buried inside the church.
I've only just recently found your channel so bit late responding to this video. I was a nurse for 25 years mostly doing hospice and end of life care. I've seen some very strange occurancces and things I can't explain so yes I kind of believe in ghosts or maybe I just believe that there are things beyond our understanding. And I definitely do believe that we go somewhere else after we die
I love listening to the bird song 🐦🐦😘🇬🇧
A visit to Highgate in Autumn or winter can be very atmospheric if misty or foggy well worth a visit
Three cemeteries worth visiting as well as Highgate are Glasgow's Necropolis in Scotland, Southern Cemetery in Manchester and also Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin Ireland. Glasnevin has a film made about it called One Million Dubliners. The Cemetery at Glasnevin has a museum, coffee shop and several tours a day. All the famous people connected to the history of Ireland are all buried there. E.g Michael Collins, Eamonn DeValera,
Graveyards: I wouldn't be seen dead in one. Having said that, Highgate is a must to visit.
LOL I see what ya did there. ;)
The Catacombs are underground in PARIS .. Full of human sculls and bones, spooky ... Many famous people buried at Highgate Cemetary .. Some graves are very old ..Very interesting .. Paula UK x
I would gues it's managed overgrowth, makes it far more beautiful than if it was pristine. As you can hear it also means there's plenty of birds around as well
About half a mile away from where I grew up, never visited the place.!,,
That was v interesting, being a Northerner I’ve never been, but I’d love to
many old churchyards have interesting spaces like this. soon to be under the sea,
The catacombs most people know are in Paris - and well worth a visit - or a google :) Pere laChaise is also an amazing cemetery in Paris
I've just seen in another comment that it's around £18000 for a burial spot.
I know it's a commercial world, but it's £10 just to walk around, they will be charging a congestion charge next.
I wonder who has ownership of the site, I'm guessing it's a local authority.