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As an introduction to our 175 anniversary series of talks Highgate Cemetery Trustee and Historian to The Royal Horticultural Society Dr Brent Elliot gives an introduction to the development of Victorian Garden Cemeteries.

When the movement to create large-scale nondenominational cemeteries arose in the nineteenth century there was no tradition of cemetery landscapes in this country for designers to follow. The first cemeteries copied the different styles of country house gardens, ranging from the informal park (Norwood) to the first signs of a return to formal design (Kensal Green and Brompton).

In the 1840s John Claudius Loudon called for cemeteries to be laid out on a grid pattern, planted with conifers; and his, the only book on cemetery design ever published in England, was available for local authorities to use after the Burials Acts of the early 1850s. Every large town or city in the country has a cemetery in the Loudon style.
In the later years of the century a reaction set in with a partial return to informal landscaping and the use of deciduous trees. The arrival of cremation at the century’s end reinforced the trend to informal landscaping and allowed the fashion for the Japanese garden to enter the world of the cemetery.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

Having the choice between 2 models – one maintaining longer poses (up to 1 hr) and another keeping to shorter poses (4 to 15 mins) – makes this class quite special. Sharon Finmark, our tutor, is there to offer support and expertise responding to the individual needs of the class. Bring materials; paper on sale. This is a drop in class – there is no advance booking.

If you are over 55 (or thereabouts) and the very mention of computers bring you out in a cold sweat,
Coffee & Computers is for you.
We hold informal one-to-one computer familiarisation sessions over a cup of coffee on the last Friday of the month.
No need to bring anything, just yourself.
“The computer has given me a new life” says 69 year old Coffee & Computers visitor.
So come along and have a play!

We look forward to seeing you

Dr David McAllister will discuss attitudes to burial in the years leading up to the birth of the Garden Cemetery movement in the early nineteenth century and the establishment of Highgate Cemetery itself. His talk will focus on attempts by a series of writers including Wordsworth, Burke, Godwin and Bentham to identify the value of buried bodies, and to establish whether the grave was anything more than an inefficient dumping ground for human remains.

David McAllister is a lecturer in Victorian Literature at Birkbeck, University of London, and course director of its MA in Victorian Studies.

Bringing the ancient art of Falconry to the modern age, with a far-reaching and breath taking display, that is guaranteed to thrill in the beautiful setting of Highgate Cemetery Courtyard.
Filled with audience participation and interaction, the display also shows the natural attributes and abilities of the birds and exhibits how they live, fly and hunt in the wild.
Including Peregrine Falcons, estimated at reaching speeds of up to 242mph, British Barn Owls, spectacularly silent in flight, spell binding as they fly. The Kestrel – We have all seen them hovering at the side of motorways, but have you ever seen them this close?
Gates open at 7pm for the Static display. The Flying display starts promptly at 7.30pm and will last around 45mins followed by Questions and Answers and an opportunity to take photos.

Highgate Cemetery Bee-keeper, Ian Creer, will talk about honey bees in general and in particular, those resident in Highgate Cemetery.
Ian will cover the differences between honey bees and other bees native to the UK, our relationship with them (including their importance to agriculture and the environment) and the life-cycles and roles within the honey bee hive. He will also discuss the threats to honey bees, the causes and remedies, and compare honey bees in the countryside to those in the City; in particular, those in the cemetery, their forage and the type of honey they produce compared to honey from other sources.
Ian will be bringing along a demonstration hive.

Battle Field Surgery: Blood Pus and Pain

Discover the gory facts and curious tools used in a time before anesthetics and antiseptics.  Meet Mr King, Crimean Surgeon RN, for an enlightening demonstration of the techniques in the theatre of war (not for the faint hearted).

Geoff King will share his wide knowledge of historic medical technique with his amazing collection of real and replica instruments and a little audience participation.  Discover how an amputation took place, what happened if you had a bladder stone and learn about the kind of injuries occurred during war.

STARTS 31 OCTOBER 2015. APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

We’re looking for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Highgate Cemetery with our visitors.

Our new course runs over four Saturday mornings from 31st October 10.30am until about 1pm.

The course covers the founding and development of the Cemetery as well as some of the most famous people buried here. You’ll also learn tour guiding skills and cash handling so that you can contribute to a great visitor experience.

For more information on the role, visit http://highgatecemetery.org/help/volunteer

and read our Volunteer Tour Guide role description.

To apply, complete our Volunteer Application Form and return it to us by Monday 28 September 2015.

STARTS 31 OCTOBER 2015. APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

We’re looking for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Highgate Cemetery with our visitors.

Our new course runs over four Saturday mornings from 31st October 10.30am until about 1pm.

The course covers the founding and development of the Cemetery as well as some of the most famous people buried here. You’ll also learn tour guiding skills and cash handling so that you can contribute to a great visitor experience.

For more information on the role, visit http://highgatecemetery.org/help/volunteer

and read our Volunteer Tour Guide role description.

To apply, complete our Volunteer Application Form and return it to us by Monday 28 September 2015.

STARTS 31 OCTOBER 2015. APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

We’re looking for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Highgate Cemetery with our visitors.

Our new course runs over four Saturday mornings from 31st October 10.30am until about 1pm.

The course covers the founding and development of the Cemetery as well as some of the most famous people buried here. You’ll also learn tour guiding skills and cash handling so that you can contribute to a great visitor experience.

For more information on the role, visit http://highgatecemetery.org/help/volunteer

and read our Volunteer Tour Guide role description.

To apply, complete our Volunteer Application Form and return it to us by Monday 28 September 2015.

STARTS 31 OCTOBER 2015. APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

We’re looking for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Highgate Cemetery with our visitors.

Our new course runs over four Saturday mornings from 31st October 10.30am until about 1pm.

The course covers the founding and development of the Cemetery as well as some of the most famous people buried here. You’ll also learn tour guiding skills and cash handling so that you can contribute to a great visitor experience.

For more information on the role, visit http://highgatecemetery.org/help/volunteer

and read our Volunteer Tour Guide role description.

To apply, complete our Volunteer Application Form and return it to us by Monday 28 September 2015.

Max Wall, who is buried in Highgate Cemetery East, is one of the great British comedians of the 20th century, as anyone who saw his character Professor Wallofski will attest. Born Maxwell George Lorimer in Brixton, he made his stage debut as Jack in Mother Goose, going on to appear in many musicals and stage comedies in the 1930s. His distinctive facial expressions and mournful voice led to many parts in films after the war including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He played serious parts, too: Vladimir in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot being perhaps the best known.
Max’s close friend Michael Pointon, who is writing a personal memoir about him, will regale the audience with anecdotes and insights. Max was a friend of another star buried at Highgate, Leslie ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, and Michael will tell us about that friendship and play music Max and Hutch recorded together. The talk will be illustrated with film clips and excerpts from Max’s performances.

Uncover the architectural secrets of this fascinating 16^th century house with Peter Barber OBE, author of Lauderdale Revealed, who has been a vital figure in protecting our history from the devastating 1963 fire to the 2017 renovation. We will be opening up our 17^th century trompe l’oeil just for today!

Meet in the central internal Courtyard at Lauderdale House.

Uncover the architectural secrets of this fascinating 16^th century house with Peter Barber OBE, author of Lauderdale Revealed, who has been a vital figure in protecting our history from the devastating 1963 fire to the 2017 renovation. We will be opening up our 17^th century trompe l’oeil just for today!

Meet in the central internal Courtyard at Lauderdale House.

From the comfort of your home, follow in a virtual tour in Charles Dickens’ footsteps in a walk from Highgate to the hamlet of North End on the border with Hampstead and Hampstead Garden Suburb. We will follow some of Bill Sikes escape route after murdering Nancy in Oliver Twist, see houses that Dickens stayed in; learn about his friendship with philanthropist Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts; view the house that inspired Steerforth’s mother’s house in David Copperfield and peep into Highgate Cemtrey where several members of the Dickens family were buried and follow the Gordon rioters in Barnaby Rudge towards Lord Mansfield’s country estate at Kenwood (Caen Wood). We will pay a visit o the Spaniard’s Inn featured in the Pickwick Papers and continue with Bill Sikes’ journey in Oliver Twist from Highgate Hill across the grounds of Kenwood towards Northend and Hendon. We finish in North End where we view the 17th farmhouse that Dickens lodged in after the death of his sister in law Mary Hogarth.