The Cross Bones graveyard is to be found in the Borough/Southwark area of London and is a complete surprise if you come across it by accident. You can't get into the graveyard, but the gates marking the entrance to part graveyard/part railway work site are covered in ribbons and messages to the dead. It's an ancient site, dating from medieval times. A large proportion of those buried here are prostitutes, or "Wnchester Geese", and children.

It's been estimated that the remains of up to 15,000 people are buried here, and the place was closed as a threat to public health in 1853 when it was so full that bodies were covered with dirt where they lay, rather than being buried at a decent depth.

The bones were discovered when the Jubilee Line was being built, and since then planning applications have been turned down to develop the site. The railway work being carried on there is so far respecting the resting place of these paupers, and the Friends of Cross Bones are there to make sure that those interred are not forgotten.

Anyone can join in at a monthly ceremony held there at 7pm on the 23rd, and the conductor of the ceremony is local poet and mystic John Crow, otherwise known as John Constable (I've just been on a Dickens walk he was leading, and the guy is a very compelling character). Halloween is also a regular date at the site with a procession, chanting singing etc.

Keep an eye on The Cross Bones website for news of other events and awareness-raising campaigns to ensure the graveyard is kept a sacred place and this Cross Bones YouTube video.

Address: Red Cross Way, SE1