Another Bank Holiday, another excursion. This one was a bit of a bucket-list option for me, as we went to explore Brompton Cemetery, in Fulham. Many, many years ago now I lived round the corner from there, and one of the most surreal moments of my life came when I was going past the entrance to the cemetery and a van drew up and two men got out, carrying a television, which they proceeded to take towards the entrance.... I suppose that one or other (or both) of the lodges at the entrance gates were inhabited and the residents of one of them wanted to hire a new television, as was the norm in those days. But all the same....
So, you know what it is like when you live near a place, you never somehow visit it. And I don't think it was really a place to visit back then. These days, it is run by the Royal Parks, and the western lodge is a café and loos, and the eastern one is the visitor information centre. There may or may not be tenants on the upper floors - I didn't ask! The cemetery is still in use today, but it is also a public park and a Grade I listed one, at that.
We decided to go by the most sensible route of a bus to Clapham Junction and then the Mildmay Line to West Brompton (it's the first time I'd been on the Overground since its separate lines were given names). The first train was, alas, cancelled, but it wasn't long until the next one came in and we could sit down while waiting for it to leave. And, of course, the cemetery's northern entrance is only metres from the station.
So we wandered up and down the many paths, finding some famous graves - Dr John Snow, who proved the link between cholera and contaminated water; prize-fighter John "Gentleman" Jackson, ballet composer Constant Lambert and, of course, Emmeline Pankhurst, on whose grave people are still putting flowers.
Much of the cemetery has been left to run wild, as a haven for wildlife - there were lots of birds, including a murder of crows, and a squirrel, but I believe there are also bats and rare insects. Some of the graves are still tended, of course, but with over 200,000 people buried there, many are left to run wild. Even some of the more modern graves - one, raised in memory of "Our beloved mother" was very unkempt and uncared-for, and we wondered how beloved the mother in question had actually been. Graves ranged from ornate mausoleums, over-the-top Victorian marble angels and so on, to plain marble slabs, and pretty much anything in between. I'll put lots of photos on Facebook.
When we had wandered down to the South end and back again, we had lunch in the café, and then went back down to the South exit to catch a bus. We had thought of going to the exhibition at St Paul's, but we were getting tired by then, so got a 211 to Battersea Power Station Station and then it's only a short walk to the terminus of the P5, which took us home.
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