Wildlfe and history in Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery

Like many other urban cemeteries, my local one - Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries - is a haven for wildlife. Whilst there are some lovely parks nearby, these are all far more intensively used and managed whereas much of the cemetery is effectively wilderness with large trees and long grass. From the middle of it, you can barely see the surrounding housing and it's easy to forget you're in the heart of a built-up area.

Cemeteries also provide a great way of learning more about local history and whilst it's fun to wander round and speculate about the stories behind the various people buried there it's even better to do that with someone who actually knows some of those stories. Last Sunday I did just that on a guided walk organised by the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries. For a couple of hours, our knowledgeable guides provided about a dozen of us with some fascinating insights into some of the famous and not-so-famous people associated with the cemeteries. We also learnt that the two cemeteries - then called Deptford and Lewisham - were originally opened as completely separate plots but were then combined and renamed under the management of Lewisham Council.

Sir John Gilbert's grave

Those buried there include Sir John Gilbert, who produced numerous illustrations for Punch and the Illustrated London News and Queen Victoria's physician, Sir Alexander Nisbet. There are also a number of poets including the war poet, David Jones, and the 19th century poet, Ernest Christopher Dowson, whose grave was restored and rededicated last year. Others who have left their mark locally include the Jerrard family who were the builders responsible for several streets of housing in the area and whose name lives on in Jerrard Street off Loampit Vale.

Memorial to Jane Clouson

What is perhaps most moving are the stories of ordinary people remembered in various ways in the cemeteries. There is a particularly striking memorial to 17-year-old Jane Maria Clouson - 'a poor motherless girl' who was murdered in April 1871. Despite strong circumstantial evidence against him, the alleged perpetrator (the son of her employer) was acquitted and the public was so incensed at this outcome that they raised a subscription to erect a memorial for Jane.




The area's maritime links are reflected in the number of memorials to those lost at sea and the impact that both world wars had on the area is evident in the memorials to those killed locally as well as shrapnel damage to some of the memorials. A further insight into lesser known parts of local history was provided by the memorial to someone killed whilst riding 'a spirited horse' in the Deptford Carnival in May 2nd 1900 - evidence of the lively May Day celebrations that used to take place at that time.

Memorial with shrapnel damage

One of the many memorials to those who drowned

and one for someone killed on 'a spirited horse'

 So there was lots of fascinating history and as befits somewhere rich in wildlife we even saw a sparrowhawk sitting high up in one of the trees and finished the afternoon by picking lots of delicious blackberries from the numerous brambles which run wild through much of the cemeteries.

As well as regular guided walks, the Friends group also run volunteer workdays, helping to maintain the site and keep it clear of invasive species. Details of forthcoming events are on their website which also includes some of the historical research they have undertaken in connection with people buried in the cemetery.

A Walk through Spitalfields with the Bishopsgate Institute

The changing face of Spitalfields

The Bishopsgate Institute in Spitalfields has recently undergone a major refurbishment and to celebrate the re-launch of their new look building they organised a series of free events and courses last week. These were obviously very popular as the first couple of things I tried to book on to were already full but I did manage to get a place on the 'Explore Spitalfields' walking tour last Friday lunchtime. This was led by an excellent Blue Badge Guide, Rachel Kolsky, who regularly leads walking tours as part of the series of courses offered by the Institute.

 Rachel began by emphasising that it was only possible to give us a taster of what Spitalfields has to offer in the 30 minutes allotted for the tour but it was a fascinating insight into an area which has had many functions and occupants over the centuries. We started in Bishop Square, a place which is now surrounded by shiny modern office blocks and bustling shops and bars but which many years ago used to be a burial ground and the original charnal house in which bones were stored has been preserved for people to view. We moved on to the market which has also seen many changes over the years. I still have fond memories of the way it was in the mid-1990s when I first came to London but after seeing it now, I want to go back to explore it again one week-end.

The next stop was Princelet Street which, with neighbouring Wilkes Street and Fournier Street, contains a small enclave of eighteenth century housing which has survived all the changes and redevelopment that has taken place around them. Rachel gave us a potted history of the inhabitants of these houses, many of whom were associated with the cloth trade and lived and worked in these houses from the French Huguenot weavers who were the first inhabitants to the Jewish immigrants of the early twentieth century. For a time many of the houses became sweatshops rather than residences but now most of them are private homes and one (no.13) is even a holiday home for rent from the Landmark Trust (if you're feeling rich!). You can't tell from the street but apparently the houses have long back gardens and many, like this one, have been beautifully restored:

Elsewhere on Princelet Street at no. 19 is a house that has not yet been restored and that has a particularly fascinating history as it has a synagogue built over it's garden. A campaign has been launched to save this building which is occasionally open to the public.

Another building with an interesting history is the Brick Lane Jamma Masjid. Now a mosque, it was originally built as a chapel by the Huguenots and has also been used by baptists, Methodists and an ultra-orthodox synagogue. The mosque is at one end of Fournier Street and at the other is the impressive Christchurch Spitalfields, which is where our whistestop tour ended: