91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Not strictly a memorial but irresistible to include.

As railway lines were constructed through densely built-up parts of London, they often crossed old churchyards. The son-of-a-bishop architect Arthur Blomfield was commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the proper exhumation of human remains and dismantling of tombs. For the Midland Railway's route across the original St. Pancras Churchyard. In about 1865 he passed this unenviable task onto his trainee, Thomas Hardy. The work was done behind hoardings and Hardy would visit to ensure the work was being done correctly.

His poem "The levelled churchyard" was surely inspired by this experience:
We late-lamented, resting here,
Are mixed to human jam,
And each to each exclaims in fear,
'I know not which I am!'

Everyone "knows" that Hardy's solution to what to do with all the headstones was to place them around this tree. However, there is a 1926 photo of these stones with no tree. The most likely explanation is that the stones were only gathered here c.1877 when the old burial ground was converted into a public garden, and that the tree self-seeded at some time after that. We thank the for debunking the myth.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them