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"Three days later, in that
fast-yellowing October, Soames took a
taxi-cab to Highgate Cemetery and mounted
through its white forest to the Forsyte
vault. Close to the cedar, above catacombs
and columbaria, tall, ugly, and individual,
it looked like an apex of the competitive
system. He could remember a discussion
wherein Swithin had advocated the addition to
its face of the pheasant proper. The proposal
had been rejected in favour of a wreath in
stone, above the stark words: "The
family vault of Jolyon Forsyte: 1850."
It was in good order. All trace of the recent
interment had been removed, and its sober
grey gloomed reposefully in the sunshine. The
whole family lay there now, except old
Jolyon's wife, who had gone back under a
contract to her own family vault in Suffolk;
old Jolyon himself lying at Robin Hill; and
Susan Hayman, cremated so that none knew
where she might be. Soames gazed at it with
satisfaction--massive, needing little
attention; and this was important, for he was
well aware that no one would attend to it
when he himself was gone, and he would have
to be looking out for lodgings soon. He might
have twenty years before him, but one never
knew." - The Forsyte Saga
The cemetery in its original form (the
older, Western part) was opened in 1839, part
of an initiative to provide seven large,
modern cemeteries (known as the
"Magnificent Seven") in a ring
round the outside of London. The inner-city
cemeteries, mostly the graveyards attached to
individual churches, had long been unable to
cope with the number of burials and were seen
as a hazard to health and an undignified way
to treat the dead.
Highgate, like the others, soon became a
fashionable place for burials and was much
admired and visited. The Victorian attitude
to death and its presentation led to the
creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and
buildings. It occupies a spectacular
south-facing hillside site slightly downhill
from the top of the hill of Highgate itself,
next to Waterlow Park, both of which were
part of the former Dartmouth Park which
covered the area.
In 1854, the area to the east of the
original area across Swains Lane was
purchased to form the eastern part of the
cemetery. This part is still used today for
burials, as is the Western part. The
cemetery's grounds are full of old-growth
trees, shrubbery and wildflowers that are a
haven for birds and small animals like foxes.
This, the Egyptian avenue, is lined with a
particularly prestigious set of vaults. It
leads to the Circle of Lebanon, a rotunda
with a Cedar of Lebanon growing from its
centre.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate_Cemetery
Posted 29 months ago.
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Wonderful columns. I love Egyptian
ornamentation.
Posted 29 months ago.
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Not exactly historically authentic but very
impressive all the same!
Posted 29 months ago.
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aaah yes... I remember that very well.
Posted 28 months ago.
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Quite striking...
Posted 28 months ago.
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Stunning. And you definitely need to start
shooting more B&W - these two are
sensational! :-))
Posted 27 months ago.
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I'll see what I can do...
Posted 27 months ago.
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Perfect subject for B&W. I think that's
true of many cemeteries, but of Highgate in
particular. I'll have to dig through my
archives and dust off some old slides from
Highgate; haven't been there for years.
Got locked in the cemetery one Sunday night
while touring with some mates We had to
climb the fencing to get out. Ah, youth!
Posted 27 months ago.
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Sadly you don't have the opportunity to
wonder round on your own now, only through
guided tours. Not that I'd be all that keen
on being locked in here at night..
Posted 27 months ago.
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I do like contrasting light and dark,
especially in black and white, like on my
shot of the Brompton Cemetery Colonnade.
Posted 21 months ago.
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Very Impressive photo. I was there a few
years ago abd this photo really does do it
justice. Comically, I think I spent more
time futzing with lenses than looking around.
Posted 17 months ago.
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There were more cameras there than on the
average film opening during my last visit...
Posted 17 months ago.
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that is a wonderful image.
Posted 16 months ago.
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Thanks. Though Pugin didn't seem to like it
at the time, thinking it pagan in contrast to
the true English style of gothic (though
gothic was itself seen as catholic in
contrast to Anglican classicism):
"Most people's idea of a cemetery is
something associated with great Egyptian
lodges... the entrance gateway is usually
selected for the grand display of the
company's enterprise and taste... this is
generally Egyptian, probably from some
association between the word catacombs... and
the discoveries of Belzoni on the banks of
the Nile.. interspersed with hawk headed
deities and surmounted by a huge
representation of the winged Osiris bearing a
gas lamp."
This applies as much to Abney Park as
Highgate but you get the idea.
Posted 16 months ago.
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Nice perspective!
THIS WAS MY FAVORITE AT (5 FOR 2)
Posted 16 months ago.
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Thanks.
Posted 16 months ago.
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Mysterious and beautiful.
THIS WAS MY FAVORITE AT (5 FOR 2)
Posted 16 months ago.
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Thank you.
Posted 16 months ago.
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lunarsea71 [deleted] says:
Interesting comments. it has been my lifelong
ambition to visit Highgate and now I'm living
in Surrey again, there is no reason why I
couldn't. Love this photo and yes...I would
like to be locked in over night.
Posted 15 months ago.
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Thanks.
Posted 15 months ago.
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The Pritzker Architecture Prize on flickr
Posted 14 months ago.
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▪▫■ □ □ ■▫▪ ▪▫■ □ □ ■▫▪ ▪▫■ □ □ ■▫▪ ▪▫■ □ □
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A wonderful picture, ein wunderschönes
Photo!
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The Pritzker Architecture Prize on flickr
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Posted 14 months ago.
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The Pritzker Architecture Prize on flickr
Posted 14 months ago.
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Some new shots of the Avenue and Circle:
Posted 13 months ago.
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Hi, I am an admin for a group called Landmarks around the world, and I discovered this great shot in Highgate tube station, United Kingdom. We love to have your photo added to the
group.
Posted 10 months ago.
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Beautiful.
Posted 10 months ago.
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Thanks.
Posted 10 months ago.
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Excellent shot.
Posted 10 months ago.
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Cheers.
Posted 10 months ago.
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Great photo of this memorable lane..
Posted 8 months ago.
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Thanks.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Decayed yet Hauntingly Beautiful, and we'd love to have your photo added to
the group.
Posted 4 months ago.
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this is a beautiful shot!.
Posted 3 months ago.
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Many thanks.
Posted 3 months ago.
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Hi, I'm an admin for a group called 100 + Viewed Best Architecture Photos (add 1,
award 1), and we'd love to have this added to the
group!
Posted 2 months ago.
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