The actor Frederick Lane had not slept well. He was preparing for another performance of ‘Secret Service‘ at the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand. It was a drama written by American playwright and actor William Gillette which had debuted in Philadelphia two years beforehand. In the early hours of the 16th December 1897, he was […]
When well-meaning cleaning and decoration instead open up a hornets nest I physically wince when I see videos on social media of admittedly good-natured, kind hearted individuals cleaning up grave stones. Mostly of the examples I’ve come across don’t have a blind clue what they’re doing (my other half is now used to my shrieks […]
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This was more than just your average funeral. Brompton cemetery was filled with thousands of mourners. They crammed themselves in as the gun-carriage took the remains of a national hero to his last resting place. Another man whose life had been prematurely shortened by this dreadful war. His death was more than just a chance […]
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Life lived with a bang, ended with a whimper Look at the cover image on this biography, written by Thomas Edgar Pemberton. Dressed with long, theatrical whiskers and a quizzical, confused glance – this was an extraordinary gentleman, resembling a 19th century Tom Selleck, who commanded a fee of £235 a week (roughly £23,500 in […]
West Norwood Cemetery shared an image of one of their more imposing monuments and I countered it with the same shot, but from 1968 (courtesy of Lambeth Archives). The imposing, henge-like monument to 19th century antiquaraian John Britton. A man who wanted his own memorial to endure down the eyons. So he took inspiration from […]
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A flat in Hampstead is up for sale. Boasting over 1,332 sq feet of living space, a private terrace and close proximity to Hampstead High Street, this top floor flat – with its plain white walls, battered leather seats and eclectic set of metal map chests and chairs – has an asking price of £1.8 […]
Taphophiles unite! A few days ago Matti Geyer, a tour guide from Berlin dropped me a message sharing his love of graveyards and cemeteries. He offered to do a short post about a cemetery that I myself had been to when I was last in Berlin – one of the city’s finest, in fact. Here […]
How one photographers secret stash fell foul of 19th century morality I was in The National Archives in February 2020 and found the allure of the microfilm readers too much to resist. So I picked up a reel, loaded it onto the reader, and took a punt to see what was on it. It was […]
Porto, also known as Porto Cale (‘warm port’, in modern translation) in Roman times, is the city that gave Portugal its name. It’s a lovely city, albeit one that has probably surrendered a little too much to the needs of the tourists. Wanting to see a little more of its culture, I turned to one […]
Things have been a little quiet for Cemetery Club this year, and there is a reason why. Well, two reasons. Caring duties for a parent being a key one. BUT. The second reason, which is more pertinent, is that earlier this year I was approached by Hoxton Mini Press to write a book on historic […]
