Highgate Cemetery - West Side

One of my favorite places in London is Highgate Cemetery.  It is a Victorian garden cemetery and has the most amazing flora and fauna and, my favorite, statues and monuments.  The purpose of a garden cemetery is to let things grow wild and indeed it has!  The East side claims such famous residents as Karl Marx and, more recently, Douglas Adams, but the West side...well, the West side is amazing due to the crypts and the Egyptian influence.  So here are a few before I leave...

Highgate - West Side entrance

Inverted torches

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Inverted torches are seen throughout Highgate - the photo above is of a door of a mausoleum.  You will also see them on gravestones and held in a downward position by angels.  The guide said that is was a symbol of the light of life being extinguished.  I found it particularly interesting as well since the torch is a symbol of the Goddess Hekate who carries torches to light the way into the Underworld for souls.

Cedar of Lebanon

The Circle of Lebanon is a group of mausoleums formed into a circle towards the top of the cemetery and is crowned by a Cedar of Lebanon.

Terrace Catacombs & Mausoleums

the photo above is the circle that is below the cedar.

peeking into the catacombs

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The catacombs are currently going through restoration as they have been badly damaged by thiefs and vandals as well as many many years where there was a lack of upkeep.  This was just a peek through but there are more underground, including some tunnels built into the hillside and a tunnel leading to the east side so that bodies never actually leave sanctified ground by crossing the road from the chapel on the west side to the burials on the east side.

Nero

Nero the Lion is the guardian for the tomb of George Wombwell who was his owner and had an exotic animal show that toured throughout London and some of England in Victorian times.

More to come!