A Very Long Post about Waterlow Park and Highgate Cemetery
Checking on my planting work from yesterday, I was rather pleased to find, not only that my lemon verbena, plumbago and myrtle plants had survived the winter after all, as had some osteospermums and pelargoniums, but also that the kangaroo apple I grew the year before last has seeded itself, as has a rather nice little campanula. Since this morning, when eight had emerged, twenty-seven morning-glory seedlings have appeared. I may have overdone it a bit!
Weather forecast notwithstanding, it was beautifully warm and sunny today; definitely early summer rather than spring. I spent a lovely afternoon with the g-d and boyfriend walking in Waterlow Park and Highgate Cemetery. I love this time of year, when everything is still freshly green, and there are swathes of wild white flowers everywhere - Queen Ann's lace, hawthorn and chestnut, as well as the last of the cherry and apple blossom. The easiest way to get to Highgate Cemetery is to take the 210 bus (or walk up the very steep Highgate Hill) from Archway Station to Lauderdale House, and walk through Waterlow Park. The house and park were originally private, and left to the local council by the owners to provide "a garden for the gardenless", and today they were full of families, picnicking, playing football, climbing trees and generally enjoying the sunshine. The house is now a local arts centre, and was hosting a craft fair. It was built in the 1500s, and modified over the years; it was heavily restored in 1963, but suffered a bad fire shortly after. At one time, it was occupied by Nell Gwynne, one of Charles II's numerous mistresses. There is a story that she threatened to drop her infant son by the king from an upper window if he did not grant the child a title; the king immediately cried "Help! Someone save the Earl of Burford!". The park is pleasantly landscaped, with a large pond and some lovely trees and old walls. By the house is a sundial, at about waist height, with a plaque explaining that it is at the same height as the top of the dome of St Paul's. The flower borders are a little overgrown, because upkeep would be so expensive, but since I was last there, the formal garden next to the house has been restored, and is nicely planted with beds of white tulips. At the bottom of the park is a gate which opens onto a narrow lane, next to the gates of the East and West sections of Highgate Cemetery. Both sections of the cemetery are run by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery; the East section is open to the public all the time (tickets are £3) and still used for burials, but the older and more spectacular West section, which is very overgrown indeed, can only be visited as part of a guided tour. We wandered around the East section, which was full of birdsong, butterflies and flowers. A lovely place to be buried in. We found Karl Marx's huge tomb, with his head that looks so very much like Father Christmas, and failed to locate Douglas Adams. The cemetery is non-denominational, and there were Christian (all versions), Muslim, Jewish and Chinese graves, as well as a few completely unidentifiable persuasions. I took a lot of pictures of pensive, ivy-grown angels and flowery paths edged by tombstones and we spent some time reading epitaphs.
I've always wondered why "gone to sleep" or "not dead but sleeping" are so popular as inscriptions; I think I'd prefer Spike Milligan's version - "not sleeping but dead". One grave had the rather worrying inscription "be still" which immediately suggested to me that the occupant wasn't dead. There were some striking modern memorials, including one geometric structure that read "DEAD" in large letters, and several touching memorials to children. My favourite inscription was the one that read "I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way". The nicest graves looked like troughs of flowers. The cemetery is more open and less overgrown than the West section, but many of the vaults have quite large trees growing through them, and some obelisks had bright yellow "dangerous structure" notices on them. A lot of the flowers there had clearly been originally planted on graves for their meaning, and then run wild, especially the forget-me-nots and the dark perennial geranium "Mourning Widow", but there were lots of genuine wild flowers, including bluebells (English and Spanish types) and Queen Ann's Lace.
Since I wasn't carrying anything, I managed to keep up quite well, and feel much better for the walk. It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorow. And now, lots of pictures under the cut;
The newly-restored flower garden at Lauderdale House
The old brick terrace wall and border; the magnolias are gone over now, but must have been lovely a few weeks ago.
The lake with many Canada geese; we heard a passing mother confidently describing these as "a sort of swan" to her small child.
The first of many pensive angels; someone had put a rose on her book.
Sitting down pensively.
Lily-of-the-valley was my mother's favourite; there are some Mourning Widow in the background.
Definitely not sleeping. I'm not sure if I approve of making one's grave into a sort of conceptual-art joke; not helped by it's being rather ugly.
Pensive again
Buried under a bed of forget-me-nots, how nice!
"The broad and flowery way"
"The narrow way of righteousness"
Lots and lots of people enjoying the park.
Weather forecast notwithstanding, it was beautifully warm and sunny today; definitely early summer rather than spring. I spent a lovely afternoon with the g-d and boyfriend walking in Waterlow Park and Highgate Cemetery. I love this time of year, when everything is still freshly green, and there are swathes of wild white flowers everywhere - Queen Ann's lace, hawthorn and chestnut, as well as the last of the cherry and apple blossom. The easiest way to get to Highgate Cemetery is to take the 210 bus (or walk up the very steep Highgate Hill) from Archway Station to Lauderdale House, and walk through Waterlow Park. The house and park were originally private, and left to the local council by the owners to provide "a garden for the gardenless", and today they were full of families, picnicking, playing football, climbing trees and generally enjoying the sunshine. The house is now a local arts centre, and was hosting a craft fair. It was built in the 1500s, and modified over the years; it was heavily restored in 1963, but suffered a bad fire shortly after. At one time, it was occupied by Nell Gwynne, one of Charles II's numerous mistresses. There is a story that she threatened to drop her infant son by the king from an upper window if he did not grant the child a title; the king immediately cried "Help! Someone save the Earl of Burford!". The park is pleasantly landscaped, with a large pond and some lovely trees and old walls. By the house is a sundial, at about waist height, with a plaque explaining that it is at the same height as the top of the dome of St Paul's. The flower borders are a little overgrown, because upkeep would be so expensive, but since I was last there, the formal garden next to the house has been restored, and is nicely planted with beds of white tulips. At the bottom of the park is a gate which opens onto a narrow lane, next to the gates of the East and West sections of Highgate Cemetery. Both sections of the cemetery are run by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery; the East section is open to the public all the time (tickets are £3) and still used for burials, but the older and more spectacular West section, which is very overgrown indeed, can only be visited as part of a guided tour. We wandered around the East section, which was full of birdsong, butterflies and flowers. A lovely place to be buried in. We found Karl Marx's huge tomb, with his head that looks so very much like Father Christmas, and failed to locate Douglas Adams. The cemetery is non-denominational, and there were Christian (all versions), Muslim, Jewish and Chinese graves, as well as a few completely unidentifiable persuasions. I took a lot of pictures of pensive, ivy-grown angels and flowery paths edged by tombstones and we spent some time reading epitaphs.
I've always wondered why "gone to sleep" or "not dead but sleeping" are so popular as inscriptions; I think I'd prefer Spike Milligan's version - "not sleeping but dead". One grave had the rather worrying inscription "be still" which immediately suggested to me that the occupant wasn't dead. There were some striking modern memorials, including one geometric structure that read "DEAD" in large letters, and several touching memorials to children. My favourite inscription was the one that read "I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way". The nicest graves looked like troughs of flowers. The cemetery is more open and less overgrown than the West section, but many of the vaults have quite large trees growing through them, and some obelisks had bright yellow "dangerous structure" notices on them. A lot of the flowers there had clearly been originally planted on graves for their meaning, and then run wild, especially the forget-me-nots and the dark perennial geranium "Mourning Widow", but there were lots of genuine wild flowers, including bluebells (English and Spanish types) and Queen Ann's Lace.
Since I wasn't carrying anything, I managed to keep up quite well, and feel much better for the walk. It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorow. And now, lots of pictures under the cut;
The newly-restored flower garden at Lauderdale House
The old brick terrace wall and border; the magnolias are gone over now, but must have been lovely a few weeks ago.
The lake with many Canada geese; we heard a passing mother confidently describing these as "a sort of swan" to her small child.
The first of many pensive angels; someone had put a rose on her book.
Sitting down pensively.
Lily-of-the-valley was my mother's favourite; there are some Mourning Widow in the background.
Definitely not sleeping. I'm not sure if I approve of making one's grave into a sort of conceptual-art joke; not helped by it's being rather ugly.
Pensive again
Buried under a bed of forget-me-nots, how nice!
"The broad and flowery way"
"The narrow way of righteousness"
Lots and lots of people enjoying the park.