Cemeteries are museums of people! By public historian
@SheldonKGoodman
(he/him). No longer here, check Insta/FB/TikTok/Threads โฐ๏ธ ๐๐ ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
Explore a wonderful Victorian cemetery in Londonโs best
#Halloween
event!
Social history from the cockney dead, respectfully at their gravesides. 26th-31st October, bring a torch! ๐ ๐
@FoTHCP
The tomb of 28 year old Maria Magdalena Langhans, who died during childbirth on the day before Easter in 1751. Sculpted by Johann August Nahl, it shows her and her baby breaking out on the day of resurrection. A copy of the stone in the parish church of Hindelbank, near Berne.
NSFW I guess, but I think this is utterly marvellous - a Mexican grandmother had a 167cm penis placed over her grave because โshe liked themโ and what the word represented.
Big dick energy for your morning, here. ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐
The tomb of 28 year old Maria Magdalena Langhans, who died during childbirth on the day before Easter in 1751. Sculpted by Johann August Nahl, it shows her and her baby breaking out on the day of resurrection. A copy of the stone in the parish church of Hindelbank, near Berne.
โIโm forever blowing bubblesโฆโ as shown in this plaster work on the ceiling of the Holy Grave Chapel in Michaelsberg Abbey, Germany. The bubbles represent lifeโs fragility.
Created between 1729 - 1731 by Johann Georg Leinberger. ๐งผ ๐
Mary Smith earned sixpence a week shooting dried peas at sleeping workers' windows - before alarm clocks and smart phones took over. โฐ
Sheโs often posted about. But where is she buried? For such a key 1930s East End characterโฆwhat happened to her?
7 years of doing cemetery related things & some people STILL think I do it to exploit the dead.
Cemeteries are as much a part of life as a supermarket or a maternity ward. Whatโs so wrong with celebrating those whoโve died & hearing about their lives?
Never mind Wordle, how about this for a conundrum! The grave of John Renie, a house painter who died in 1832 was supposedly carved by his own hand to โconfuse the devilโ. Itโs Grade II listed!
๐ St Mary's Priory Church in Monmouth ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ ๐งฉ ๐ชฆ
โThe Angel of Griefโ was sculpted by artist William Wetmore Story for his wife Emelyn, whose death in 1894 devastated him to the point that this was the last sculpture he ever did. He died the following year of a broken heart. The Angel is in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.
In Finland, the dead are massively important to Christmas celebrations - itโs a tradition for families to go to cemeteries and light candles on the graves of those theyโve lost on Christmas Eve. Who is lighting a candle for their lost ones tonight?
๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ฏ ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ซ๐ฎ
Joseph Croce-Spinelli & Thรฉodore Sivel died trying to break the altitude record by hot air balloon in April 1875. Reaching 28k feet, they later crashed with only the 3rd passenger, Gaston Tissandier, surviving. Their hands are clasped together.
๐ Pรจre Lachaise Cemetery, ๐ซ๐ท
One of my favourite funerary sculptures in the Abbey is to Lady Elizabeth Nightingale. She died in childbirth in 1731 & is shown here with Death aiming his deadly dart at her: her husband Joseph desperately trying to stop him from taking her. Sculpted by Louis-Franรงois Roubiliac.
๐ Happy Valentines Day! ๐
This is the alleged skull of St Valentine; although at least 10 other Valentines in the Roman Catholic register of Saints exist. Found during an excavation in the 1800s, this ๐ is in the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome!
Researching some graves ahead of my visit to Pรฉre Lachaise. One of them that Iโll be looking for is of former President of France Felix Faure, who *allegedly* died whilst being fellated in 1899. ๐งต
A 2nd century CE Greek headstone depicting the relief of a cadaver at its base. Translated, it reads: โI, the actor, Philistion, soothed menโs pain with comedy and laughter, a man of parts, I often died - but never quite like thisโ.
Held at the British Museum.
He smoked opium & dope, translated the Kama Sutra & was one of the 19th centuries most controversial explorers - and his coffin is made from solid steel! Richard Burton is buried with is wife Isabel in a stone Bedouin tent in St. Maryโs, Mortlake!
#OpenHouseLondon
Caroline Walter died of TB in 1867. Devastated, her sister commissioned this sculpture for her grave, showing Caroline in eternal sleep. And every day, her sister laid flowers in remembrance of her deceased sibling.
154 years later, *someone* is still doing it. ๐ฉ๐ช
What you may mistake for writing bureaus are actually...Minoan coffins. Youโd be buried in the foetal position: youโd leave the world in the same way you entered it. From the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, Crete (thanks Christian Torres for sharing this) ๐บ
25 year old Renรฉ de Chalon, Prince of Orange apparently wanted his tomb to show him three years into decomposition.
His outstretched arm reputedly once held a reliquary containing his own heart, which disappeared during the French Revolution.
๐ Saint-รtienne at Bar-le-Duc,๐ซ๐ท
A steam locomotive on a grave! The stone is very badly weathered but I think this guy was involved in a accident with a train at Clapham goods yard. โKilled while performing his dutyโ. How would you feel if the cause of your death was put on your ๐ชฆ?!
@MrTimDunn
@RWLDproject
๐
THE SECRET IS OUT!
@RoyalParks
invited me to explore the catacombs of
#BromptonCemetery
to meet the dead you don't normally get the chance to!
Every day next week will be an episode of 'Tales From The Catacombs', a video series of extraordinary permanent residents!
#halloween
โฐ๏ธ
A memorable funeral...! Henry Taylor, pallbearer, killed by a coffin in 1872. He tripped over a stone, the other pallbearers let go & one tonne of wood, lead and body descended upon him in Kensal Green Cemetery. The widow of the man inside it was understandably distraught!
You *are* permitted to go on a walk during the Covid-19 lockdown: so why not visit your local cemetery - social distancing of 2 metres is easy there! In my local I found a would-be assassin who could have changed the course of the 19th century! ๐ธ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ
Just me and a barrel of skulls and femurs.
The workmen must have been having a blast putting this all together in the late 18th/early 19th century. โ ๏ธ
#paris
#catacombs
The ashes of Stephen Hawking placed into the floor of Westminster Abbey. His memorial stone, of Caithness slate, shows a black hole and echoes the words found on Isaac Newtonโs tomb, but in English:
โHereย Lies What Was Mortal Of Stephen Hawkingย 1942-2018โ.
#cemeteryclub
Happy birthday Pรจre Lachaise: the cemetery that changed how the dead were dealt with and inspired copycats the world over. I loved my visit back in 2018. ๐ซ๐ท
219 years old today!
#CeJourL
ร | Le 21 mai 1804, le cimetiรจre du Pรจre-Lachaise ouvrait ses portes.
D'une surface de 43 hectares, il constitue ร ce jour le plus grand espace vert de Paris. ๐
๐
The playful grave of Joel Weinstein, creator and publisher of arts magazine Mississippi Mud. Writer, graphic designer, food critic and huge admirer of Dia de Los Muertos, his headstone was designed by his friend John Laursen.
Fittingly, Joel died on Halloween 2008. ๐ฆด
Are you a history or ancestry enthusiast? Weโre proposing to digitise millions of wills dating back to the 1800s, making them easier for the public to access.
Take a fascinating look into our storage archive in Birmingham and have your say:
A polite notice - if you see any of these types of markers on auction sites, report them immediately. These are often stolen from the graves of men known as โchumsโ - who fought the duration of WW1 and were recognised accordingly - and should NOT be for sale.
In the cemetery of Nokhur in Turkmenistan, mountain goat skulls adorn the graves of the locals whoโve passed on. Itโs thought this wards off evil spirits and ensures the dead continue their journey to the hereafter smoothly. ๐ โฐ
Hmmm. Iโm not entirely sure how I feel about this reuse of common grave headstones in Nunhead Cemetery. Lovely that the names are displayed in full view, butโฆwhere are they *actually* buried?
STARTING TODAY!
@theroyalparks
very kindly gave me access to Brompton Cemeteryโs catacombs. Iโll be sharing the life stories of those in its vaults all this week!
The first instalment. a flavour of whatโs to come. ๐ โฐ๏ธ ๐
#talesfromthecatacombs
Iโm on holiday. In Jersey, in the shadow of Bergerac. Time to give cemeteries a rest, enjoy a bit of cycling, having some down time to recover from Halloween. I will definitely not go into any places of rest.
Also me:
Catacombs Saints are venerated and bejewelled in opulent finery and gems: here the supposed remains of St. Candidus lie in a shrine in the Historical Museum Blumenstein in Solothurn,๐จ๐ญ. He died in 287AD as a commander of the Theban Legion.
๐ธ: Christian Boss, via Flickr.
Easily one of the most beautiful graves in the world: in Highgate Cemetery an angel sleeps on a bed of clouds. Carved from a single block of marble, who was Mary Nichols, the woman it was made for?
#womenshistorymonth2022
Graveyards are a surprisingly good place to do exercise! Here are the musical graves of ๐คก Joseph Grimaldi and entertainment polymath Charles Dibdin. Itโs supposed to be a tune (โHot Codlingsโ, a Grimaldi standard) but I think it needs a bit of tuning...!
Iโll speak as someone whoโs had to step back from a lot of stuff this year to care for a parent and this feeling of being overwhelmed is very, very real. A number of us are becoming parents to our parents and I donโt think enough of a conversation is being had about it.
17 years as a carer and I think I'm approaching complete burnout. I just snapped at my Dad and I hate myself for it. But I'm trying to edit my book, earn a living, & look after someone with constant needs. I could slap myself for saying a mean thing to him. It's had me tears
The transi (deceased represented in effigy) tomb of Franรงois de la Sarra, who died in 1363. His likeness shows him being eaten by worms and frogs. The exact reason as to why isnโt clear. It is said he died a violent death and drowned (and this is how he was found) ๐ชฑ ๐ธ ๐จ๐ญ
Potato promoter Parmentier!
Placing a spud at Antoine-Augustin Parmentierโs grave: he recommended the use of a ๐ฅ as a foodstuff and even held lavish parties (which had Benjamin Franklin at one of them) with potato-based recipes to promote their eating!
#perelachaise
#paris
๐ซ๐ท
I get asked where Mary is a lot - let this be an accessible guide to whoever wishes to pay their respects at her grave, in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Kensal Green
@seacolestatue
#DoctorWho
๐ Happy Valentines Day! ๐
This is the alleged skull of St Valentine; although at least 10 other Valentines in the Roman Catholic register of Saints exist. Found during an excavation in the 1800s, this ๐ is in the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome!
Death escapes his prison and takes aim with his spear towards Elizabeth Nightingale: while her husband Joseph tries to shoo him away, in vain. Elizabeth died in 1731 due to a premature childbirth induced by a lightning strike. Sculpted by the Louis Francois Roubiliac. โก๏ธโ ๏ธ
@wabbey
He wasnโt buried: Heโs on a shelf in the Royal Vault. Very simple to remove. I assume either his coffin has degraded or they want to keep the vault off limits.
Send him home. ๐ช๐น
Prince Alemayehu: Buckingham Palace rejects calls to return royal's body
The grave of Frรฉdรฉric-Auguste Bartholdi, better known as the sculptor behind Libertas, the Roman goddess - better known as The Statue of Liberty.
He sculpted the angel on his tomb himself. ๐ฝ
In the midst of social distancing to combat Covid-19, the UK government recommends to stay 2 metres apart from others if you're needing a walk to get some fresh air.
There's no better place to get some fresh than your local cemetery...hereโs what I found in mine. ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐๐งผ
Catacomb tours in Brompton Cemetery today! Each catacomb has its own vibe & occupants. The intact coffins are usually oak: the ones turned to powder exposing the lead coffin inside are softer, less robust woods. This is the south east catacomb, (not the one open today).
Dabbling with the idea of making a feature of finding a grave and then posting it on Twitter so we can find out about the person together. Does that sound good? Would you be up for it?
#FindMeFriday
or something.
The telephone graveyard, Merstham, near Redhill in Surrey. Despite their battered appearance, many of these old phone boxes will be repurposed and repaired for use elsewhere, from Abu Dhabi to New York.
๐ธ Andrew Testa.
GRAVEYARD SYMBOLS with
@dinoboy89
&
@CemeteryClub
!
Cemeteries are packed with loads of symbols - but what do they mean...? In this weekly series weโll be showing you what they are & where they come from!
Episode 1: a laurel wreath!
๐ฅ by
@DanNouveau
// ๐ง by
@danielcbeach
In Surrey is a huge cemetery for the London dead. And it used to have its own railway! From exceptional painters to revolutionary architects, all aboard for a one way (online) trip to the London Necropolis! Saturday 27th March at 7pm! ๐ โฐ๏ธ โฐ๏ธ โฐ๏ธ
The grief-struck angel atop the Ribaudo family tomb in Staglieno Cemetery, Genova was sculpted by Onorato Toso in 1910. In the 1970s it achieved worldwide notoriety for being used in the cover of Joy Divisionโs โLove Will Tear Us Apartโ ๐ฎ๐น ๐
๐ธ by Alberto Bongiorno.
I donโt think they did. Sometimes we think that because death had a more visible presence in life back then, that Victorians were hardened to it. I seriously doubt that. Then, as now, the loss of a child must have been debilitating.
I met Tom Sayerโs great granddaughter today. She lives in Essex & had never seen her famous ancestorโs tomb.
WHO IS TOM SAYERS? You ask. A very famous boxer - pre-Marx, he was the person they flocked to
@HighgateCemeter
to see - alongside a stone likeness of his dog โLionโ. ๐ฅ
Cracking open the G&T to celebrate the wonderful news that my project on
#QueerlyDeparted
, the LGBTQ cemetery experience I did with
@sacha_coward
& more got me a distinction for this part of the module for my MA
@BirkbeckHCA
๐ณ๏ธโ๐ ๐
Thank you
@DanNouveau
for proof reading! ๐
โThe Angel of Griefโ was sculpted by artist William Wetmore Story for his wife Emelyn, whose death in 1894 devastated him to the point that this was the last sculpture he ever did. He died the following year of a broken heart. The Angel is in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.
What's remarkable about this tomb? ๐ค
Built in the 6th century for Cyrus the Great, founder of the ancient Achaemenid Empire, it is one of the earliest structures that's built to be earthquake-proof! Using seismic base isolation, it will gently wobble if a tremor occurs.
You often find some odd coffins in catacombs and this one, in Kensal Green, I suspect came from Europe.
Look at that lid. People often died elsewhere and were shipped back home. Compare it to its neighbourโฆ
I donโt think Polly Nichols or Annie Chapman would have found their murders funny, and neither should we. Jackโs story shouldnโt glamorise the murder of women but embolden the story of the shit that women had to deal with in a long battle with inequality. Do better
@LondonDungeon
Dear lord.
How annoying.
How to say you fancy serial murdering scum without saying it:
"Recently released AI-generated renderings of Jack the Ripper reveal the infamous 19th-century prostitute killer to be a dashing gentleman with a darkly alluring, wild-eyed energy."
No.
#OTD
in 1936 the Crystal Palace burnt down. The intensity of the blaze could be seen illuminating the sky from places as far away as Southend, and melted glass ran down Anerley Hill like a lava flow.
Itโs been a rough year, but receiving a cemetery tour review like this on
@Tripadvisoruk
brought me to tears this morning.
If you missed the talk on a Saturday weโre working with
@FoTHCP
to bring it to you over Christmas! ๐ ๐ชฆ
Catacomb Saints were the remains of โmartyrsโ from a rediscovered necropolis beneath the Via Salaria in Rome in the 16th century & sent to churches across Europe, where they were dressed in silk. Expensive jewellery was added to embellish their importance to Christianity.
A 1977 interview with 108 year old Mrs Florence Pannel who was born in 1868. She shares her memories and speaks about life for women in Victorian times. Born before the aeroplane and 101 when man landed on the moon. Her accent is remarkable.
The tomb of the Ladies of Llangollen and their housekeeper, Mary Carryl. Lady Eleanor Butler (1739โ1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755โ1831) were upper class women who lived together as a lesbian couple and wore menโs clothing.
๐ St Collenโs, Llangollen ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ
The grave of Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond! Memorialised not only in Paddington Old Cemetery but in the station that shares the bearโs name (where he sits with a statue of his creation) and of course, all his books and films! ๐ป ๐
As a former library employee, this is a bad idea. Staff do not need another thing dragging them away from the core element that so many local authorities are overlooking - the books themselves. This obsession with making a library a hub for every social venture is infuriating.
I am once again begging the city to open indoor playgrounds at public libraries. My child needs somewhere to burn off energy without getting frostbite, and all the private indoor trampoline parks and such are SO expensive.
Itโs been a rough week. Year even, frankly. So I am pining for my return to Paris toโฆwell. Be amongst the dead in the greatest cemetery on Earth.
#Paris
#PereLachaise
And thatโs it. Done. Dissertation submitted. Masters complete.
A huge, huge thank you to
@DanNouveau
who read over my lengthy tome explaining the Spanish Flu & Covid-19. I did the best I could do, battling incredible lethargy and running out of steam.