Hello--
I very much enjoyed my visit to Highgate this past spring. I hope to see London again in May '17 and would like to know if anyone can recommend an old cemetery with lots of stone angels. I know of the Magnificent Seven; does anyone have a favorite?
Thanks so much!
Have you visited the Brompton?
No, I haven't been there. Highgate is the only cemetery in London that I've been to.
Hi, Emma: No, I had not seen that list. My pen pal grew up in Harrow Weald and I stayed there for a week in 1984. I remember walking by the Harrow School. She also later moved to another nearby area, North Harrow, perhaps? Have not been there in 30 years!
I've only recently heard of Sir John Betjeman, and his teddy-bear-carrying days at Oxford. (I'm a "Brideshead Revisited" fan).
It certainly looks like there's no shortage of cemeteries...
Google The "Magnificent Seven"
Of the other "Magnificent Seven":
Brompton - highly recommended, very well-kept, several celebrities and artistically interesting tombs.
Kensal Green - interesting but very large and tiring to walk round.
West Norwood - less interesting than some, but artistically impressive Greek Orthodox section
Nunhead - very overgrown, impossible to explore off the paths and hard to see many of the tombs. Good viewpoints of London as it's on a hilltop
Abney Park - overgrown and atmospheric
Tower Hamlets - somewhat overgrown, lacking in well-known people. In a somewhat questionable area where I would recommend obvious tourists NOT to wander alone.
If you want to visit an active cemetery that still has a history and graves of a number of well-known people (at least in a UK sense) try Putney Vale. Different areas have been used at different times, so the monument style is quite a mixture.
Philip, that is a good point about being an obvious tourist and safety. Thanks for the breakdown on the Magnificent Seven!
Marco, had not heard of Putney Vale. Thank you!
