Highgate Cemetery and the Highgate Vampire

Highgate Cemetery

There are two parts to this, the most famous Victorian cemetery in London - east and west. We're interested in the slightly older western part although the east has its attractions as well (Karl Marx, George Eliot and former Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. The west cemetery was opened in 1854 as a result of the rapid expansion of London from a city of 1 million to 2.3 million in the first fifty years of that century. It closed in 1975 and the entire cemetery was taken over by the "Friends of Highgate Cemetery" - an admirable charitable organisation whose heart is most certainly in the right place, even though their PR could be improved a tad.

It's a wondrously atmospheric cemetery and your guide will tell you that the idea is to let it go back to nature, while ensuring that the important monuments are preserved. You'll see how important this is when you see the beautiful gravestones and other monuments. Of note are the "Egyptian Avenue" with it's papyrus columns pictured at the top of this page. This reflects the Victorian taste for all things Egyptian. You'll also see the enormous mausoleum complex of the Circle of Lebanon with its giant Cedar of Lebanon.

The angel statues are haunting, elegant and of the highest quality as a result of the stipulation by the London Cemetery Company that all the graves by the side of the path had to have expensive tombs and statues. Click here to jump to Visitor Information

Highgate Vampire

Stories of vampires began in 1967 when two schoolgirls allegedly saw corpses rising from their graves. One of the girls went on to have nightly visitations and blood loss à la Bram Stoker. Later, carcasses of foxes and cats were found. Even a ghostly cyclist was seen cycling along Swain's Lane which runs through the two sections of the cemetery. Bishop Sean Manchester was the vampire hunter who took over the case, researching the sightings for 13 years until he eventually found the blood-sucking miscreant in a neo-gothic mansion on the Highgate borders and did the needful.

Visitor Information - Highgate Cemetery

The lady who greets you may be a bit fearsome, but she's a softy really and just trying to look after the cemetery. You'll be given a list of dos and don'ts with which you must comply and if there are too many attendees she may make you wait for the next. But it's worth it - trust me.

**Please make sure you read this BEFORE you turn up.**

Weekend tours: (for which there is NO BOOKING) take place each hour at 11.00am, 12 Noon, 1.00pm, 2.00pm, 3.00pm, and 4.00pm (last tour at 3.00pm from 1st November to 31st March) again guaranteed only for 12-15 people. It is advisable, especially in holiday seasons, to come at least half an hour before the scheduled time. Sundays are popular and it is sometimes not possible to accommodate everyone wishing to visit. The West Cemetery tour charge is £5.00. This includes permission to take photos. Average length of tour is one hour. Surfaces are uneven and some of the tour is uphill. In particularly wet weather it is desirable to wear Wellingtons or similar footwear.

Highgate Cemetery
Swain's Lane
Highgate
London
N6 6PJ

NB This information was taken from the official Highgate Cemetery website - you'll find the link on this page

For a selection of stories on those buried at Highgate, go to the Sexton Tales - link for which you'll see here also.

You'll also see suggestions for further reading on the vampire as well well as the graveyard at Highgate Cemetery Recommended Reading