Last week my sister mentioned that they were doing tours of the cata's in Brompton for 1 day only,so decided to head down on sunday to check it out.
Located in Earls court and opened in 1840 it was originaly called ,West of London and Westminster Cemetery and is in a fairly untended state these days.
The cemetery was one of seven large, modern cemeteries founded by private companies in the mid-19th century (sometimes called the 'Magnificent Seven') forming a ring around the edge of London. The inner city burial grounds, mostly churchyards, 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.
Brompton Cemetery was designed by Benjamin Baud and has at its centre a modest domed chapel (in the style of the basilica of St. Peter's in Rome) at it southern end, reached by long colonnades, and flanked by catacombs. The chapel is dated 1839. The site, previously market gardens, was bought from Lord Kensington and is 39 acres (160,000 m2) in area. The cemetery is designed to give the feel of a large open air cathedral. It is rectangular in shape with the north end pointing to the northwest and the south end to the southeast. It has a central “nave†which runs from Old Brompton Road towards the central colonnade and chapel. Below the colonnades are catacombs which were originally conceived as a cheaper alternative burial to having a plot in the grounds of the cemetery. Unfortunately, the catacombs were not a success and only about 500 of the many thousands of places in them were sold. There is also an entrance on the south side from the Fulham Road. The Metropolitan Interments Act 1850 gave the government powers to purchase commercial cemeteries. The shareholders of the cemetery were relieved to be able to sell their shares as the cost of building the cemetery had over run and they had seen little return on their investment.
It is listed as Grade II* in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England and five of the individual monuments are listed as Grade II.
notable burrials include
Samuel Baker - explorer
Joseph Thomas Clover - pioneer of anaesthesia
Henry Augustus Mears - founder of Chelsea Football Club
Emmeline Pankhurst - Britain's leading suffragette
Percy E. Lambert - racing car driver
The cata's tour was a load of shit,it lasted about 20mins and we moved about 20ft :-\ the vicar bloke wouldn't allow photos so i had to keep to the back of the line and take some blurry under the shoulder shots,shame as with the tripod could have got some good ones.
The coffins in the catas are tripple coffins......a wood one incased in lead and then encased in wood again,there's a fair amount of lead in each coffin and vicar didn't think my jokeabout weighing it all in was very funny.Afterwards when we got out a Birds of prey stand had been set up and got to see some cool alternatives to parrots.
A good day out with the faimly,which makes a change ;D
The Cata's,pretty poor shots im afraid
i knew Tucker had loads of money
Cheers
Pirate
Located in Earls court and opened in 1840 it was originaly called ,West of London and Westminster Cemetery and is in a fairly untended state these days.
The cemetery was one of seven large, modern cemeteries founded by private companies in the mid-19th century (sometimes called the 'Magnificent Seven') forming a ring around the edge of London. The inner city burial grounds, mostly churchyards, 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.
Brompton Cemetery was designed by Benjamin Baud and has at its centre a modest domed chapel (in the style of the basilica of St. Peter's in Rome) at it southern end, reached by long colonnades, and flanked by catacombs. The chapel is dated 1839. The site, previously market gardens, was bought from Lord Kensington and is 39 acres (160,000 m2) in area. The cemetery is designed to give the feel of a large open air cathedral. It is rectangular in shape with the north end pointing to the northwest and the south end to the southeast. It has a central “nave†which runs from Old Brompton Road towards the central colonnade and chapel. Below the colonnades are catacombs which were originally conceived as a cheaper alternative burial to having a plot in the grounds of the cemetery. Unfortunately, the catacombs were not a success and only about 500 of the many thousands of places in them were sold. There is also an entrance on the south side from the Fulham Road. The Metropolitan Interments Act 1850 gave the government powers to purchase commercial cemeteries. The shareholders of the cemetery were relieved to be able to sell their shares as the cost of building the cemetery had over run and they had seen little return on their investment.
It is listed as Grade II* in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England and five of the individual monuments are listed as Grade II.
notable burrials include
Samuel Baker - explorer
Joseph Thomas Clover - pioneer of anaesthesia
Henry Augustus Mears - founder of Chelsea Football Club
Emmeline Pankhurst - Britain's leading suffragette
Percy E. Lambert - racing car driver
The cata's tour was a load of shit,it lasted about 20mins and we moved about 20ft :-\ the vicar bloke wouldn't allow photos so i had to keep to the back of the line and take some blurry under the shoulder shots,shame as with the tripod could have got some good ones.
The coffins in the catas are tripple coffins......a wood one incased in lead and then encased in wood again,there's a fair amount of lead in each coffin and vicar didn't think my jokeabout weighing it all in was very funny.Afterwards when we got out a Birds of prey stand had been set up and got to see some cool alternatives to parrots.
A good day out with the faimly,which makes a change ;D
The Cata's,pretty poor shots im afraid
i knew Tucker had loads of money
Cheers
Pirate
