Abney Park

I've just discovered the beautiful Abney Park, a combination of 19th century cemetery, woodland, and wildlife sanctuary.  One of the seven grand cemeteries created on the outskirts of London in the 1800's. The architects created it as an arboretum with 2,500 varieties of plants.  Lack of funds saw the park fall into disrepair and go into administration during the 1970's.  The London borough of Hackney took it over in the 1980's and have been working to restore the park to its former glory.

However, in this time of "profits rule" developers want to come in and build on the edges of the site.  The plans include a huge car park, supermarket and of course high rise apartments.  The 20% of promised "affordable" apartments will be in the £400,000 range.

The locals are outraged and fighting the development which they say will have a substantial adverse impact on the biodiversity of the park.  In addition they are concerned about the impact on the wider area, one of the few areas where independent stores are still thriving.

The locals are passionate about their park and have many activities throughout the year.  This weekend this included teaching people how to make Christmas wreaths.

They would like your support.  You can sign their petition here … you don't have to be a local to support this worthy cause.

Written at the foot of this memorial in the grounds of St Mary's church in Rotherhithe is:
"To the memory of Christopher Jones 1570 - 1622 Master of the Mayflower. He landed 102 planters and adventurers at Plymouth Massachusetts 21 Dec 1620. They formed the Mayflower Compact the first permanent colony in New England." 
Christopher Jones became master of the Mayflower in 1609 and had a quarter share in the ownership of the vessel.  It was mainly employed transporting wine, spices and furs from the new world back to London from almost this spot.

In 1620 he took the pilgrims to Massachusetts.  The pilgrims honoured his memory by naming the Jones river in nearby Kingston after him.  When he died he was buried in this very churchyard, in a now unmarked grave.

Is it just me or did the majority of the leaves fall from the trees last weekend? The ground everywhere was so colourful. 
St Andrew's Gardens, Camden, is one of only two cemeteries (that I have found) that is some distance from the church it served.  It closed as a cemetery in 1850 and re-opened as a public garden in 1885.  The majority of tombstones were removed but a few box tombs remain and several others line the walls

A Quiet Spot

Olympic fever is in full swing, there is no way you can be in London and not be aware of the games, even if its only because your daily journey is disrupted. Summer arrived over night and temperatures have doubled. A moment in a quiet shady spot is the perfect way to keep your sense of humour.
Bunhill Fields Cemetery in Islington, not far from the City of London is a wonderful place to sit with your newspaper or book.
Originally the land was part of the manor of Finsbury forming the moor between the City of London and the village of Hoxton. In the 15th Century is was used by the military for archery practice. Although a few bones had been buried in the fields during this period, it was during the plague of the following century that it became a major burial ground as the church cemeteries ran out of space. The grounds were never consecrated and so became popular with the non-conformists ie dissenters of the Church of England. The last burial here was in 1854 and became a public park in 1869.

Winchester Geese

Winchester Geese is how prostitutes were known in the middle ages when the Bishop of Winchester ran licensed houses of 'geese'. An area in Southwark became the burial ground for these women. Later a burial ground for those with cholera, smallpox and similar diseases. By Victorian times it was an overcrowded burial ground for paupers, finally closing in 1853. In recent years this shrine on the gate has appeared to remember all those who lie here.

Snowdrops

A grasshopper's view of the snowdrops a couple of weeks ago. They're finished now and the daffodils are slowly arriving. In the UK most snowdrops are found around churches, graveyards and priories.
In medieval times the church planted them for the feast of candelmass. This feast for the purification of the virgin mother takes place 40 days after Christmas.
Whether fact or myth I don't know, but certainly is where you will see wonderful displays of these delicate flowers

Men at Work #16

Restoration work at Highgate Cemetery.

Billy

Autumn, graveyards and Halloween today.

Billy's heart in Bow Cemetery was one of many in this style grouped together. Is this significant? Was it Victorian fashion or are they part of group who died in similar circumstances? Any locals know the answer?

I don't know why but I thought that Halloween was an American invention. But no, it's origins go back further than that. Back with the Celts a couple of thousand years ago. Samhuinn (pronounced.. sah'win) marked the end of summer or the beginning of winter. The cows all had to be brought indoors. The ghosts of the dead were all a bit cold so were hanging about. Hence a good idea to leave them some food and do whatever was necessary to keep them happy.

So I hope Billy is resting happily under the trees in their red and gold autumn robes.

Bow Cemetery

Known locally as Bow cemetery (although officially it is London Tower Hamlet Cemetery) opened in 1841 is one of the most important Victorian working class cemeteries. Prior to this period graveyards were small and generally attached to a church. This is one of the seven large cemeteries created during the Victorian era. Important as it is steeped in east end history. From large unmarked communal graves to those of numerous disasters such as the Bethnal Green tube disaster in 1943 were people were crushed sheltering from the blitz.

It became a nature reserve in 2001. While wandering through here I found mushrooms saw a red fox run by and generally found it a wonderful place to explore.