The London Burial Grounds: Notes on Their History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day — John Shaqi
The London Burial Grounds: Notes on Their History from the Earliest Times to the Present DayHolmes, Isabella M.
History
The London Burial Grounds: Notes on Their History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day
Holmes, Isabella M.
Cemeteries -- England -- London -- History
No one has done his duty by St. Paul’s who has not been in the crypt.
Dr. Donne’s monument, which dates from before the fire, has been brought
up and placed in the south aisle of the choir, amongst those of bishops
and deans, but some fragments of other tombs from old St. Paul’s are
still in the crypt, besides many tablets and monuments of later date.
There was for many years a prejudice against admitting memorial
monuments in the Cathedral at all, but one being erected to the memory
of John Howard, the reformer, the spell was broken. Several old stones
on the floor of the crypt have no graves below them, those they
commemorate having been buried outside in the churchyard, but now the
few internments that take place are under the floor of the building, Sir
Frederic (Lord) Leighton’s being the newest grave. Here also lie Sir
Nicholas Bacon, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir
Christopher Wren, Dean Colet, George Cruikshank, Opie, West, Turner,
Lord Napier of Magdala, Lord Mayor Nottage (who died in office in 1885),
Bishop Piers Claughton, and many other notable persons. There is one
division where there are gravestones in memory of past vergers of the
Cathedral. Directly under the dome are the remains of Nelson, in a
coffin made from wood of the _Victory_, enclosed in a sarcophagus
originally intended for Cardinal Wolsey, but put aside as he was not
considered worthy of it, and subsequently brought out and altered to
suit Lord Nelson. Close by is a larger sarcophagus containing the
remains of the Duke of Wellington.
[Illustration: ST. MARGARET’S AND THE ABBEY CHURCHYARD ABOUT 1750.]
The Churchyard is no longer a fashionable resort, but it has been a very
useful one since 1879, and many are the visitors who may always be found
sitting there, while the pigeons fly amongst the tall and smoky columns.
The Rev. H. R. Haweis says the Cathedral should be washed. He is right,
no doubt, but “stately Paule” still remains black.
Neither the graveyard of the Knights Templars, the great rivals of the
Knights Hospitallers at Clerkenwell, nor the garth of the Abbey of St.
Peter, have had a record so varied as that which clings round St. Paul’s
Churchyard. The Temple Church, especially the round portion of it, is
most ancient and interesting, but it has been much injured by the modern
representatives of the Templars who have denuded the walls of many rich
old monuments. The part of the churchyard which is immediately round the
church is closed and turfed and has some fine old stone coffins in it.
The northern part is paved and gravelled and is added to the public
thoroughfare, the chief object in it of general interest being the grave
and monument of Oliver Goldsmith.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account