Highgate Cemetery is famous for a few things: the graves, the spirits, and the cedar tree. The graveyard is designated Grade I on the list of English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’, Victorian necropolises that were established in the outskirts of London, and it was the home to the magnificent Cedar of Lebanon.
History of the tree
In the 19th century, London’s population grew from 1 million in 1800 to 2 million in 1840, and so did the number of dead grew too. This was partly due to outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, which led to inner-city graveyards to become overcrowded. Private enterprises stepped in to help, buying land for new cemeteries on the fringes of London.
The Cedar of Lebanon stood in the grounds of Ashurst House, which was sold in 1830 to make room for Highgate Cemetery. The house was demolished and St. Michael’s Church was built in its place. However, the tree remained, and was later corralled by a circle of twenty vaults: the Circle of Lebanon.
The cedar stood on the property around 100 years before the cemetery was established, and managed to last nearly 200 years before it had to be cut down. It had survived deep winters and a lightning strike, but staff at the cemetery spotted fungus on the tree.
In August 2019, experts found significant decay on the cedar. Fearing that it would collapse and damage the tombs, tree surgeons urged for it to be cut down. Fortunately, a new one has been planted for future visitors to the cemetery.
Halloween at Highgate
In 1960, Highgate closed and the once pristine gardens became overgrown and the buildings started to fall down. The abandoned cemetery was used for scenes in horror movies and was even used by Hammer Film Productions.
Several spirits allegedly call Highgate home, including a cyclist and a nun. The most famous one is the Highgate Vampire. The Vampire’s presence is announced by a sudden drop in temperature and he could be blamed by dead foxes found in the grounds. He is believed to have been awoken as a Satanic ritual.
The problems with the dead started during the Victorian period when coffins started to explode due to decomposing bodies in hermetically sealed tombs. Coffins were made of lead to prevent ‘miasmas’, noxious smells that cause diseases; however, these lead to gases to buildup and would cause coffins to explode.
