Secret Chronicles and Walks of London: Brompton Cemetery

Someone told me one time that if I wish to know more about a particular place, I have to delve into its streets, unpopular places and talk to locals so that I can have a clearer picture of that place and most importantly to its culture and history.

I am new to London so everything I see is interesting. I know that London has a lot of histories to tell. So imagine, you are walking into one the streets where Shakespeare onced lived. That alone will blow my mind. So here I am making a pact to myself and to the four walls within my room that I have to start walking into some of the little lanes of London discovering more of its hidden chronicles everyday.

Yesterday, as I was walking towards Northend Road from West Brompton Station I made a wrong turn. Instead of going left as I went out I turned right. It was by destiny I guess that I was led to that direction. It took me awhile to realised that I was in a wrong direction since I was glued to my phone looking at my facebook (LOL). As soon as noticed it I was already at the front of a lovely Victorian cemetery. At that time, I didn't have any idea about how majestic and amazing that place is.

At first I was hesitant, I was thinking that it was a private property but there were small notices on both sides of the entrance saying that it is open to the public. I was then excited and my curiosity was killing me. It was telling me "Don't be a pussy and just go inside". Glad to say, my curiosity was bigger than my fears and I went in.

The moment I was inside, my jaw dropped. I was totally swept off with its sheer beauty. It was only then that I knew that it is part of the "Royal Parks". Since I have a little knowledge about it I instantly googled it and I found some interesting facts.

The 40-acre site that started back in 1840 is a well preserved cemetery. It is considered as one of the most spectacular cemetery in central London. The site is definitely and tremendously atmospheric. It has 35,000 monuments that date from 19th and early 20th centuries (Stephen Millar, London's Hidden Walk Vol. 2, p.308). Presently, it is occasionaly used for burials.

I also learned that there were notable people who were buried here. One of them is, Sir Andrew Scot Waugh - a British army and a surveyor who named the world's highest mountain after Sir George Everest (Stephen Millar, London's Hidden Walk Vol. 2, p.308). The list goes on but the main point is that this place is beyond words.

Walking along this path gave me chills, not because I was scared but because of its sheer splendor. It also reminded me a life's lesson, that no matter how rich, famous and succesful you are once you are dead we will all be eaten by the same worms. So be humble and be nice.

It was indeed a memorable walk. It was like I was drawn back into the early 19th century. The elegance and the tranquility of the place will bring you to those old times when the Great Gatsby was still taking his adventures. Moreover, as a history lover nothing warms my heart more than a glimpse of the past and the lessons that it impart.

I will end this post with a saying from J. K. Rowling: "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next adventure."

May all the souls who were buried on that place will rest in peace.

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