Walking the City of London

Category: Parks Page 1 of 2

Seafarers and a boy soldier at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

By the 1830s central London’s cemeteries were literally overflowing with bodies but it was entrepreneurs, rather than the religious authorities, who responded to the squalor by financing seemly, hygienic concepts of burial in the rural outskirts, now embraced by inner London. The Magnificent Seven is an informal term applied these developments and I am gradually working my way around them. I have now visited Highgate and Abney Park and recently I ventured east to Mile End and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

The City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Company was made up of eleven wealthy directors whose occupations reflect the industries of the day: corn merchant, merchant ship broker and ship owner, timber merchant, and Lord Mayor of the City of London. The company bought 27 acres (109,265 m2) of land and the cemetery was divided into a consecrated part for Anglican burials and an unconsecrated part for all other denominations. The Cemetery was very popular with people from the East End and by 1889 247,000 bodies had been interred (the cemetery remained open for another 77 years). In the first two years 60% of the burials were in public graves and by 1851 this had increased to 80%. Public graves were the property of the company and were used to bury those whose families could not afford to buy a plot. Several persons, entirely unrelated to each other, could be buried in the same grave within the space of a few weeks. There are stories of some graves being dug 40 feet deep and containing up to 30 bodies.

I headed straight for the beautifully situated war memorial …

It consistes of 16 bronze tablets carrying a list of 283 names. I often find it incredibly moving to look closely at the names, and particularly the ages, of those who have been commemorated in memorials such as this.

This panel certainly told a story since the first name I came across was that of a 17-year-old called Private W J Thurgood of the Civil Service Rifles

The rules were that you had to be 18 to join up or be conscripted but it is estimated that around 250,000 boys under that age served during the First World War. Incidentally, the letters P.W.O. stand for the Prince of Wales’ Own.

This image tells a story …

The panel in full …

Of the fourteen men listed here where ages are stated, eight are aged 21 or younger.

You can read more about the teenage soldiers of World War 1 here.

A terrible storm at sea is brought to mind here on the family grave of Alfred James Gill and Captain J Warne. I love the details such as the rigging, the bird hovering on the left and what looks like lightning flashing on the right ….

A commemoration of the 190 people who died in Second World War air raids ….

The bricks used in this memorial come from the bombed houses nearby. The mention of a garden in the inscription (“THIS GARDEN…”) is about a garden that does not exist any more because, first, it became a path right up to the brick memorial, and second, the memorial itself was moved to a different location within the cemetery in 1995 because of vandalism.

One of the largest – and certainly the most imposing – family monument in the cemetery, is the Westwood Monument. Joseph Westwood, a businessman, lived at Tredegar House on the Bow Road …

You can read more about the Westwood dynasty here.

A few steps from the Westwood Monument is a 2016 memorial marking the
grave of three of Dr Thomas Barnado’s own children, and more than five hundred children who died whilst in his care who are buried elsewhere in
the Cemetery. Dr Barnado, who started his work with poor children in Stepney in 1868, set up The Ragged School in Stepney Causeway and children’s homes across the East End …

This is the large family vault erected for Ann Francis (d. 1859), wife of
Charles Francis (d.1861), a corn merchant and one of the founding Directors of the Cemetery. This is the highest point in the Cemetery Park and at the time the vault was built it was possible to see the Thames …

The monument was designed with a curious secret: a brick was removed from a wall so that the sun would shine through a wrought iron cross in a door on the western side of the vault at dawn on midsummer’s day …

The Bears were of German Jewish origin but converted to Methodism
and anglicised their names. Those buried here include Henry Bear, a wealthy tobacco and sugar merchant who lived on Cable Street …

The unusual mural of wheat signifies everlasting life …

The consoling text from John XII, v 24 “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

This is the grave of Will Crooks (d. 1921) and his second wife Elizabeth.
A casual labourer in the docks he became politically active and was one of the leaders of the historic 1889 Dock Strike,in which dockworkers
successfully demonstrated for increased wages …

He campaigned not only for fair wages but also open spaces, technical education and the opening of the Blackwall Tunnel. He became London’s first Labour mayor in 1901 when he was named Mayor of Poplar. He was elected to Parliament in 1903 winning in Woolwich, a traditionally Tory constituency …

The grave was rediscovered and the Labour Party and local council paid for its restoration. A true working class hero, you can read more about him here.

This small stone marker commemorates Alfred Linnel …

A steel plaque attached to it reads:

‘Alfred Linnell, 1846 – 1887, is buried near this spot.
On Sunday 13th November 1887, ten thousand people marched towards Trafalgar Square, protesting against repression in Ireland and unemployment. Police and troops beat them with truncheons. A week after ‘Bloody Sunday’ Alfred Linnell, joined a gathering in Trafalgar Square to protest against the authorities’ violence. He was knocked down by a police horse and died on December 2nd.

Not one, not one, nor thousands must they slay
But one and all if they would dusk the day.

William Morris.’

The pamphlet printed to raise money for his family …

Apparently his was one of the biggest funerals ever held at the cemetery with literally thousands of people following the procession.

Unfortunately I failed to find the grave of Music Hall star (and husband of Marie Lloyd) Alec Hurley. Here’s an image of it I found online …

And the man himself …

This stone displays very unusual information. Captain John Chrystal was buried at sea and the relevant Latitude and Longitude map co-ordinates are engraved on the family tombstone …

Research shows that his ship, The Travancore, was just off the coast of Peru when he died. The ‘Register of Deceased Seamen’ gives his cause of death as ‘Heart Failure’.

The Travancore …

And John’s Master’s Certificate is also online, along with other documents …

Here are other images I took as I walked around. Some graves seem incredibly close together and, since the graveyard was hit by bombs a number of times during the Blitz, I’m wondering whether the markers were disturbed and have subsequently been propped up again …

Fred Savill’s memorial incorporates a sculpture of a horse. Maybe he enjoyed a ‘flutter on the gee gees’ …

Though filled with gravestones and funerary monuments, the cemetery has been allowed to revert to resemble a natural woodland, with many wildflowers, birds and insect species found in the park. There are several trails and walks created by the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park you can follow. Here is one of them.

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Mosaic Magic … bringing beauty to new places.

A quiet mosaic revolution has been taking place in London and a new book is planned to celebrate its success. I would be incredibly grateful if you could consider giving some support to its publication, of which more later.

In the meantime, here is some background information on the achievements of the wonderful Hackney Mosaic Project.

My interest started back in 2022 when I visited Shepherdess Walk in Hoxton and headed down steps to what must be one of the most spooky and best-concealed alleys in London …

With a promise of something really special …

Emerging through the alley into the park you’re met with these stunning artworks. The mosaics were designed by Tessa Hunkin and completed over two years by a huge team of local volunteers (over 150 in total!) …

Unveiled in 2012 to coincide with the London Olympics, the scenes are a celebration of life in Hackney’s parks.

Taking the lyrical name of Shepherdess Walk as a starting point, the first mosaic portrays the shepherdesses that once drove their sheep through here when Hoxton was all fields …

A double wall panel illustrates park life throughout the seasons of the year in the East End …

What could be more Summery than buying a Mr Whippy ice cream, having a picnic or a swim in the lido wearing your smart goggles …

Tessa and some of the Shepherdess Walk team …

Why am I calling this a revolution? Well, it used to be the case that, when I heard the word ‘mosaic’, I just thought of the Romans and the floors of so-called high status villas in places like Pompeii.

Not any more.

Here is the Hounds Of Hackney Downs mosaic. Dog owners – just imagine the thrill of having your friend and companion immortalised for all to see …

Panels give credit to the volunteers who created the work …

The playground shelter on Hackney Downs …

Tessa’s team were commisioned by the Zoological Society of London to make two mosaic panels for either side of the main entrance to London Zoo. They show Humboldt penguins and Squirrel monkeys, both popular attractions. What a great job to get!

Another London Zoo project was for the lions’ enclosure …

You can read more here.

Regent’s Park commissioned a circular mosaic under an octagonal shelter in the newly refurbished playground. The theme was play and the brief to include the wildlife that lives in the park (they are particularly proud of their colony of hedgehogs). As well as the playful mammals the Jersey Tiger Moth is represented in its full lifecycle on the leaves around the border …

A fox balances a ball on his nose …

Mural on Somerford Grove Estate …

Two of the seven panels designed for Tower Court, Stamford Hill …

Lift lobby numbers …

On the Packington Estate, Islington …

You can find more about the projects along with a helpful map here. Click this link for some of the Project’s Greatest Hits.

What I love about the Project is that it aims to help people with addiction and mental health problems and at the same time to improve neglected corners of the city. They engage volunteers, recruited both from the Hackney Recovery Services and the local community, in making large mosaics in Hackney Parks and other locations. They also teach and encourage them to create their own artworks.

‘The Project does not just make colourful pictures out of broken fragments – it also helps to piece back broken lives, and build a new community by bringing people together around a shared vision’.

You can watch and listen to Tessa and some of her volunteers here. ‘For people who have worries in their lives, if you are concentrating on a mosaic it’s difficult to think about anything else – it’s like taking a holiday from your head’.

‘In a bold reinvention of the classical tradition, designer Tessa has assembled a passionate and diverse team of makers, creating dozens of breathtaking mosaics that have become cherished landmarks, celebrating community and elevating the streets of East London’.

My friend The Gentle Author wants to publish a book that takes the story of Hackney Mosaic Project to the widest audience and inspire a flowering of community mosaics across the land …

The book will include high quality photographs of all the major mosaics, an interview with Tessa Hunkin outlining the nature of the project, commentary on the background to each mosaic by Wendy Forrest, illustrations of the working process by which the mosaics are created and the names of everyone involved. It will honour the work of the hundreds of local people who have come together over the past decade to contribute their time and creativity to this magnificent collective endeavour.

To do this some money needs to be raised! Do please consider making a donation – however small.

Click here to contribute to the Tessa Hunkin Hackney Mosaic Project crowdfunder

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

 

Noah Davis at the Barbican (plus Spring is on its way).

A review in The Guardian describes Davis (1983-2015) as a great painter, a pioneer of free culture in black working-class Los Angeles and a terrible loss to contemporary art. He died of cancer at the age of 32, leaving a young family, a wildly unconventional gallery and several hundred strange and immemorial paintings.

Motivated by the desire to ‘represent the people around me’, Davis painted figures diving into pools, sleeping, dancing, and looking at art in scenes that can be both realistic and dreamlike, joyful and melancholic. Davis drew from anonymous photography, personal archives, film, art history and his imagination to create a ravishing body of work. Often enigmatic, his paintings reveal a deep feeling for humanity and the emotional textures of the everyday.

The Barbican Exhibition runs until Sunday 11 May …

Here is a small selection from the work on display.

Some more images from my visit.

I kept bumping into this very stylish couple …

A lovely exhibition – I really enjoyed my visit.

After the frankly depressing weather of recent weeks, I have been desperately searching for signs of the coming Spring. I thankfully found them at Bunhill and around the Barbican Estate …

That little walkabout cheered me up a lot.

And I really love this modest initiative on Moor Lane …

On a sombre note, I think it’s appropriate to mention that this year is the 50th anniversary of the terrible Moorgate train crash. Forty three people lost their lives and there are two memorials, one in Finsbury Square …

… and the other on the station wall …

The cause of the disaster remains a mystery.

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

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