Cedar of Lebanon at Highgate Cemetery

Sad loss of well-loved and historic tree

Sadly, Highgate Cemetery has reported the loss of, "its great old Cedar of Lebanon" The beloved tree predates the cemetery, having been planted more than 50 years before the London Cemetery Company began its layout began in 1836. It is not known exactly how old the Cedar was, but it was believed to be at least 250 years

Highgate Cemetery’s layout on seventeen acres of the former Ashurst Estate by Highgate Village, which was itself taken down to allow for the building of St Michael's Church, Highgate in 1830. The areas lie on a steep hillside, facing the centre of London, and winding down Swain’s Lane past Waterlow Park towards Hampstead Heath, Dartmouth Park and Kentish Town. Garden designer, David Ramsey, created exotic, formal planting. Stephen Geary, the architect, and surveyor, James Bunstone Bunning designed the stunning monuments and chapels of what soon became London’s most fashionable cemetery.

Earth taken from around the ancient Cedar of Lebanon was used to create the Circle of Lebanon, which leads up to perhaps the most unique aspect the celebrated Egyptian Avenue, a walkway bordered by sixteen vaults. Close by the Terrace Catacombs was built in 1842. Along with seventy other monuments, these gothic wonders have all been listed by English Heritage. Some of the most identifiably Victorian of the monuments and headstones lie in the West Cemetery.

Highgate Cemetery shared the news of the tree's demise on its Twitter account in August 2019

When the cemetery was designed, the tree was incorporated into the plans. Visitors on the tour to the West Cemetery could see the gravestones radiating out from the magnificent arboreal centre. Cemetery staff requested an arboreal report before making the necessary decision of the tree's removal. Experts described the tree as, "high risk" as a result of years of significant decay. Dr Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, has stated they are searching for a replacement tree of a similar size.

All Highgate Cemetery burial records are available now on Deceased Online. They include digital scans of original registers, grave details indicating all those buried in each grave, and section location maps for graves (unfortunately, maps for a few graves are not available).

And please get in touch to let us know of any ancestors you have found buried in Highgate. Just post a message via the Comments Box below, or on our Facebook or Twitter pages!

Comments

New Maps Online for St Peter's Cemetery and Churchyard

New data for Scotland will be appearing on Deceased Online over the next couple of weeks. Here we give you an insight into our holdings on the cemeteries of Aberdeen. The ‘Granite City’, as Scotland's third largest city is known, features strongly in the Deceased Online database . You can search around 248,000 records from nine cemeteries and burial grounds, including St Nicholas Churchyard, Trinity Churchyard, Nigg Cemetery, John Knox Churchyard, St Peter's Cemetery - linked with Spital Churchyard, St Clement's Churchyard, Old Machar Churchyard, Grove Cemetery and Nellfield Cemetery. We have just added detailed grave location maps of Spitak (aka St Peter’s) Churchyard and St Peter’s Cemetery. Located in the north of the city, these two cemeteries form one vast graveyard. The Deceased Online database contains registers, which date from 1767, for over 160,000 burials. Besides the registers are the Dues Books. For the earliest dates these cover the date of burial...

Lambeth Cemetery

Records from the London Borough of Lambeth's Lambeth Cemetery in south London are now available to view on www.deceasedonline.com . Lambeth Cemetery , originally known as Tooting Cemetery , is home to a great many species of wildlife, including goldcrests, sparrowhawks, and woodpeckers, and provides the final resting place for over 250,000 people, including many famous music hall Victorians. Lambeth Cemetery The music hall was a popular Victorian brand of theatrical entertainment, and involved songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. One giant figure of music hall was George Wild Galvin, better known as Dan Leno (1860-1904) , who was buried in Lambeth Cemetery. Dan Leno was a leading comedian and musical actor within music hall, and was also well known for his pantomime dame roles. His first solo stage appearance was at nine years old and, as a teen, he became the star of his family's act. By the late 1800s, Dan Leno was one of the highes...

The conventional daughter of one of the 19th century's most notorious couples

Horatia Nelson Ward (29 January 1801- 6 March 1881) Horatia Nelson kneeling before her father's tomb, by William Owen (after 1807), (c) Wikimedia Commons: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/14358.html We hope you have found some of your ancestors in the recent releases from Deceased Online . We were interested to find that the latest batch of records from the London Borough of Harrow includes the grave details of Horatia Nelson Ward. Horatia, the illegitimate daughter of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton, was buried at Paines Lane Cemetery (or the Old Cemetery, Paines Lane), Pinner in Middlesex on 11 March 1881. Burial Register Scan from Deceased Online Horatia had an unconventional start to life, being born at the home of her mother’s husband, Sir William Hamilton, in Piccadilly, London. As both her parents were married to other people, they had their daughter christened as “Horatia Nelson Thompson”, but later adopted her. Neverth...

British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

Search This Blog