Amble around 'cheerful' Brompton cemetery!!

Fairly recently, I ended up at Brompton Cemetery, doing some local field research regarding the original history of the Kilmorey Mausoleum.

With the background of Chelsea football ground, and the incongruous sound of the cheering crowds drifting in and out in the distance, on a Saturday afternoon in the quiet of the cemetery; whilst I was on a photographic exploration of the historical grounds. With also a few joggers around me, and some people walking through the park like grounds, taking a short cut through the area.

The Brompton Cemetery was opened in 1840, as an example of the first privately financed and run cemetery in London.
It was also the first to be nationalised soon after, due to financial difficulties! and is still publicly owned today.


Giving the impression of fading away into the infinite distance, of one of the colonnades viewed in the Great Circle.

 The stylised coiled snakes represent entering the dark underworld through the iron gates, and into the eternal circle of life and death.






And into the deathly dark, dusty, forgotten and silent unending world of the catacombs.....


























In the mid 19th Century, the Egyptian style was very fashionable, and was finding its way into Mausoleum design.

This early example called the Courtoy Mausoleum, built in grey granite, and seen crumbling today, was built for the very wealthy and secretive Courtoy sisters, and was regarded as highly controversial in its day. Various rumours were spread around at the time, regarding pagan influences and rites carried out with the structure.

It also has a legend spread around, that it was designed as a time machine by a Victorian eccentric inventor, to allow the interred to travel in different dimensions of time and space!!
Pity that it can't travel in time itself, and repair the large chunk of stone that broke away from the pyramid style roof!

More strange information can be found at this link!

The Mausoleum provided the inspiration for the grander Kilmorey Mausoleum, with no expense spared, constructed in 1854 in Circle 1 originally.
See the Blog website link for the Kilmorey Mausoleum, as it is today.








The Circle 1 as seen today, crammed with more profitable single graves!

Views of 'poor relation' generic kit style Mausoleums, also still around the Brompton Cemetery.

Other ornate monument designs can also be seen.

Another no expense spared Gothic Church/Chapel style Mausoleum still around, built by by the co-founder of Standard Oil, the largest and most powerful oil company of it's day.

A final view of some of the local residents perching on the monuments. A fitting end to an interesting photographic afternoon experience, on a cool windy day!