• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
London’s Month of the Dead

London’s Month of the Dead

October 28, 2015
Mortuary

Birmingham mortuaries will run out of space in 10 years, councillor says

April 20, 2018
Dignity

Dignity publishes White Paper calling for stronger regulation of the funeral plan sector

April 20, 2018
Weymouth Crematorium begins £50,000 refurbishment

Weymouth Crematorium begins £50,000 refurbishment

April 19, 2018
Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

April 19, 2018
Dignity sees shares soar as death numbers increase in first quarter

Dignity sees shares soar as death numbers increase in first quarter

April 18, 2018
Low-skilled jobs rebadged as apprenticeships by firms, says report

Low-skilled jobs rebadged as apprenticeships by firms, says report

April 13, 2018
Cremation

New regulations introduced for babies ashes

April 12, 2018
Funeral Director

Funeral directors defy high street ‘apocalypse’

April 11, 2018
Space Burials – Ascension Flights

Space Burials – Ascension Flights

April 9, 2018
The face of the ‘Cheddar Man’

The face of the ‘Cheddar Man’

April 9, 2018
Cramped underground: the alternatives to bury our dead

Cramped underground: the alternatives to bury our dead

April 9, 2018
Small firms hit by pension auto-enrolment scheme, claims FSB

Small firms hit by pension auto-enrolment scheme, claims FSB

April 9, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
  • View Latest Issue
  • Contact
  • Charity & Appeals Directory
Funeral Service Times
ADVERTISE
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • All
    • Business
    • Charity
    • Community
    • Current Affairs
    • Economy
    • Events
    • Funeral Plans
    • People
    • Technology/Equipment
    • Trade Organisations
    Mortuary

    Birmingham mortuaries will run out of space in 10 years, councillor says

    Dignity

    Dignity publishes White Paper calling for stronger regulation of the funeral plan sector

    Weymouth Crematorium begins £50,000 refurbishment

    Weymouth Crematorium begins £50,000 refurbishment

    Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

    Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

    Dignity sees shares soar as death numbers increase in first quarter

    Dignity sees shares soar as death numbers increase in first quarter

    Low-skilled jobs rebadged as apprenticeships by firms, says report

    Low-skilled jobs rebadged as apprenticeships by firms, says report

  • EVENTS
  • TECH/EQUIPMENT
  • FEATURES
  • PRODUCTS
    Give way to The Plume

    Give way to The Plume

    Funeral Directors

    Funeral group’s new website responds to changes in demand

    Funerals

    Shaw’s Funeral Products publish brochure for distribution

    Secure Haven stocks double urns

    Secure Haven stocks double urns

    New memorial jewellery range from the Woodland Trust

    New memorial jewellery range from the Woodland Trust

    Inspired Goodbyes raises funds for children’s book

    Inspired Goodbyes raises funds for children’s book

  • PEOPLE
    Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

    Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

    Co-op’s youngest funeral director motivated to help families

    Co-op’s youngest funeral director motivated to help families

    Co-op

    Co-op’s embalming expert appointed North West Chairperson of The British Institute of Embalmers

    Mary Hassell

    Chief Coroner claims he misinterpreted Mary Hassell’s ‘unlawful’ protocol

    Baby Ashes

    No prosecution in Scottish baby ashes scandal

    Female Recruitment

    UK female recruitment still in the “dark ages”

No Result
View All Result
Funeral Service Times
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest News Events

London’s Month of the Dead

Sara Cork by Sara Cork
October 28, 2015
in Events
London’s Month of the Dead
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This month, Londoners are confronting their own mortality while exploring the capital’s shadowy corners. The ‘Month of the Dead’ was arranged by event organisers a Curious Invitation and Antique Beat.

Talks, workshops and tours investigating London’s relationship with the deceased are being hosting throughout October at the chapels of Brompton and Kensal Green cemeteries. Visitors have been offered the opportunity to view Hyde Park’s pet cemetery, the Museum of London’s bone archive and take part in a series of weekend death salons with talks on subjects ranging from public dissection and body snatching to reincarnation and funereal folklore. Experts offered workshops on taxidermy, a guided tour of Spitalfields Charnel House and a candlelit concert in Brompton Cemetery.

The talks run alongside a fundraising appeal for the restoration of Brompton Cemetery. 20 percent of the ticket sales are donated to the site’s conservation. A matching fund campaign with the Heritage Lottery meant every donation doubled in value.

Death Cafes

Two death cafes took place as part of the event, offering tea, cake and discussions of mortality. Louise de Winter, who hosted the Abney Park Cemetery Death Cafe on October 11, said: “It was another enlightening, life-affirming Death Cafe, this time in the middle of the beautiful Abney Cemetery. Conversations focussed around all aspects of death, dying, life and living from terrible funeral experiences to seizing the moment and the right-to-die movement. The star guests were Summer and Winter, two children who shared their experiences of death as eloquently as the adults.”

Jon Underwood set up the first UK death cafe in 2011. He commented: “To date we’ve had over 2,400 Death Cafe in 32 countries. These have been remarkably well received and show the idea that people don’t want to talk about death is untrue. On this basis we’re working to set up a real Death Cafe in London. A community share offer in support of this is running until 19th December 2015. Please see our website: http://crowdfunder.co.uk/deathcafelondon/.”

Guided Tours

Other events included ‘The Cemetery of All Souls’ a guided tour of Kensal Green Cemetery. It was carried out by Robert Stephenson, a qualified City of London and Cultural Heritage Guide and a trustee of Kendal Green and Brompton cemeteries on October 3. Visitors also had the opportunity to view Abney Park cemetery a week later.

John Baldock, who has worked for the Abney Park Trust for nearly five years, guided a group around what’s believed to be the first non-denominational garden cemetery in Europe. He said: “My tour on the 11th October for the Month of the Dead was attended by 20 people and was scheduled to run for 45 mins although it lasted just over an hour due to the audience wanting to see and hear more of Abney Park.

“The unique gothic setting of Abney Park is a step back in time, providing a peaceful environment for people to contemplate death and the burial practices of the past.”

Jane Sidell of Historic England led a tour of the subterranean charnel house in Spitalfields for a group of keen explorers: “The building dates to the early fourteenth century and stored the disturbed remains of bodies buried in the graveyard of the Augustinian Priory of St Mary without Bishopsgate.

“The charnel house was discovered in 1999, and preserved owing to its exceptional size, completeness and decorativeness. It needed to be large because a catastrophe cemetery was present on the site, in part relating to the great famines of the early fourteenth century. During the excavation which led to the discovery of the charnel house, 10, 516 skeletons were excavated by the archaeological team from the Museum of London Archaeology Service.

“The building is preserved and visible through a large window, but access inside is rarely possible. The Month of the Dead supporters received a detailed tour of the site, discussing the issues of preservation and architecture.” Later in the afternoon, at Brompton Cemetery Chapel, Jane gave a talk on the Priory and its history, and the development of the burial ground and charnel house. The audience seemed very interested in this fascinating site and lots of questions were asked about the cemetery and the medieval attitudes to death and the afterlife.

For more information on the London Month of the Dead go to www.londonmonthofthedead.com.

You have used up your free sessions for this month. To continue reading click here to login or subscribe.

Tags: London's Month of the Dead
ShareTweetShare
Sara Cork

Sara Cork

Sara Cork is the editor of Funeral Service Times. She has nearly eight years' experience in consumer and B2B titles. Feel free to drop her a line with any stories or feature ideas.

MOST VIEWED THIS WEEK

  • Dignity

    Dignity publishes White Paper calling for stronger regulation of the funeral plan sector

    12 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 0
  • Birmingham mortuaries will run out of space in 10 years, councillor says

    2 shares
    Share 2 Tweet 0
  • Funeral directors defy high street ‘apocalypse’

    3 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 0
  • Space Burials – Ascension Flights

    65 shares
    Share 65 Tweet 0
  • Stone Funeralcare launches ‘Holding Dear’ support group

    2 shares
    Share 2 Tweet 0

PUBLISHED BY

Funeral Service Times

Mulberry Publications is a B2B magazine publisher and events organiser founded in 1997. We create premium platforms to engage high-value audiences in targeted verticals.

SEARCH FST

No Result
View All Result

OTHER MULBERRY BRANDS

  • Funeral Service Times
  • Jewellery Focus
  • Landscape Insight
  • Pet Gazette
  • Hotel Owner
  • Retail Sector
  • Catering Today

FST ON TWITTER

  • 2k Followers

POSTS BY DATE

April 2018
MTWTFSS
« Mar  
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
  • Cookies Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2017 Mulberry Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EVENTS
  • TECH/EQUIPMENT
  • FEATURES
  • PRODUCTS
  • PEOPLE

Copyright © 2017 Mulberry Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

[index]
[index]
[523.251,1046.50]
[523.251,1046.50]
[523.251,1046.50]
[523.251,1046.50]