Highgate East Cemetery, London

Having visited Highgate West Cemetery on an open day, I then went across the road to the East side. This is very different in feel, more open with less trees, and it feels more modern.

The west side was the first to open, in 1839. After that burials were banned in central London, so the London Cemetery Company bought the land to create the East Cemetery, which opened in 1860. It was laid out to maximise space for burials so doesn't have the dramatic layout or imposing buildings of the West Cemetery. The early pathways were later used for burials as the cemetery filled up, and the Victorians didn't mind walking over graves to get to others.

In the 20th century when space ran out, the cemetery was neglected. The company that had set up the
cemetery collapsed and nature and vandals destroyed the memorials. Luckily Highgate was rescued by a charity and is now run for the public benefit. The income is used for conservation and restoration.

There is normally an entry charge but my ticket included both sides of the cemetery. The most famous grave in Highgate East is that of Karl Marx. On the way I saw a few other graves of notable people.

Jim Horn was an avid reader but not a partner in Penguin books. There is speculation he was in a gay partnership, hence the word partner and 2 penguins. There is a gap after the word partner, might be to add an "S" is the partner is buried here, there is also a gap after his name. Jim died in  2010 aged just 34.

At first I thought this was an angel then realised it is probably Christ -

George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, was an author. She married John Cross. Her grave -

I liked the design of this grave -

Karl Marx - He was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. Due to his political publications, he became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to publish his writings. He died a stateless person in London in 1883 and was buried in an area for agnostics and atheists. See more on Marx on Wikipedia  He was originally buried by one of the small pathways, along with his wife, but in 1954 the bones were disinterred and reburied at the present location (Wikipedia) -

This is the original burial plot -

Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo was a South African communist and anti-apartheid activist. He spent his last days in exile in London. His wife is in the grave on one side and on the other side is Saad Saadi Ali,
an Iraqi communist leader and campaigner for democracy and socialism. Behind were some Jewish graves.

A general view -

This one caught my eye because of the dog. It is Emperor, the faithful dog of Ann Jewson Crisp -

The Barratt family vault. Sir Albert Barratt was director of the confectionery company that was founded in 1848

This piano commemorates Harry Thornton, a pianist, who died in the 1918 flu pandemic -

Fireman's Corner, erected in 1934 to the London Fire Brigade -

A more recent grave, Jeremy Beadle, TV presenter, write and producer who died in 2008. The inscription: Writer, Presenter, Curator of Oddities -

This one caught my eye. Patrick Caulfield, a pop artist, he died in 2005 -

I liked the nautical engravings on this one, John Smith, Commander of HMS Worcester, Thames Nautical Training College -

And finally, another dog on a grave -

See more about Highgate Cemetery East.