Bicentennial Cemetery Loyasse
Walking route ‘Discover Westerveld’
Highgate Cemetery (London, United Kingdom)
About the cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is designated as Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. The tomb of Karl Marx, the Egyptian Avenue and the Columbarium are Grade I listed buildings.
The cemetery is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery, which consist of approximately 170.000 deceased in around 53.000 graves. The Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the notable people buried there as well as for its "de facto" status as a nature reserve.
Highgate Cemetery was featured in the popular media from the 1960s to the late 1980s for its so-called occult past, particularly as being the alleged site of the "Highgate Vampire".
Cemetery history
The cemetery in its original form – the northwestern wooded area – opened in 1839, as part of a plan to provide seven large, modern cemeteries, known as the "Magnificent Seven", around the outside of central 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. The initial design was by architect and entrepreneur Stephen Geary.
On Monday 20 May 1839, Highgate Cemetery was dedicated to St. James by the Right Reverend Charles Blomfield, Lord Bishop of London. Fifteen acres were consecrated for the use of the Church of England, and two acres set aside for Dissenters. Rights of burial were sold for either limited period or in perpetuity. The first burial was Elizabeth Jackson of Little Windmill Street, Soho, on 26 May.
Cemetery characteristics
Highgate, like the others of the Magnificent Seven, 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. In 1854 the area to the east of the original area across Swains Lane was bought to form the eastern part of the cemetery. This part is still used today for burials, as is the western part. Most of the open unforested area in the new addition still has fairly few graves on it.
The cemetery's grounds are full of trees, shrubbery and wild flowers, most of which have been planted and grown without human influence. The grounds are a haven for birds and small animals such as foxes.
The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon (topped by a huge Cedar of Lebanon) feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The eastern section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.
Video about the Highgate Cemetery
Address
Highgate CemeterySwain's Ln,
London N6 6PJ
United Kingdom
Anniversary book and CD 'Westerveld' for Prime Minister
From left to right: Henry Keizer, Mark Rutte (Prime Minister of the Netherlands) and Franc Weerwind.
The Park Cemetery (Clamart, France)
About the cemetery
Inspired by the anglo-saxon and northern Europe experiences, Robert Auzelle wanted to break the traditional isolation of cemeteries (enclosed by high walls), creating boundaries of charm trees offering a “transparency” with homes nearby allowing people and the breath of life to circulate peacefully around the final resting place.
After crossing the plazza with a permanent exhibition of sculptures, an impressive front with austere and large porche emerges - allegory of the humility of the “passing across”. Once passed the entrance, the visitor are put in the light in front of a large circular lawn bordered with flowers and remarkable trees. Environment providing calmness and serenity favorable for contemplation and meditation.
In this cemetery, there is no War memorial but a simple parallelogram, concrete totem, ornamented with low reliefs zodiacal items, anonymous witnesses of diversity of cults and religions.
Visitors will will walk on undergrowth paths, bordered by Redwood, Red oak, Lebanon cedars… and meet one after another, landscapes with scattered graves and traditional squares, offering a sensation of peace between two worlds - the one of the darkness and the one of the light.
Address
SYNDICAT INTERCOMMUNAL DU CIMETIERE DE CLAMART108 Rue de la Porte de Trivaux – 92130 Clamart
France
Contacts
Phone: +33 1 46 32 05 25Mail: conact@cimetiere-du-parc.com
Websites: www.cimetieres-de-france.fr