The Circle of Lebanon, Highgate Cemetery

A very interesting day today with G looking around Highgate Cemetery.  We spent time in the morning around the newer East Cemetery which includes the most famous grave there, that of Karl Marx.

In the afternoon we took a tour of the older Victorian West Cemetery.  At its heart is the Circle of Lebanon where a number of vaults are cut out into an inner circle with a huge old cedar tree left above them.  The outer circle is used for mausolea.  The main entrance is down the Egyptian Avenue which is shown in an extra.

The other extra is of the grave of Thomas Sayers, a popular Victorian bare-knuckle prize fighter.  His funeral was one of the largest to take place in Highgate, with over 10,000 people attending and his dog 'Lion' as chief mourner.

Highgate Cemetery is owned and run by a charity and its 'friends' do a wonderful job in maintaining it and sharing its history.