2 minute read
Book review
I was so excited to be asked to review Brian Parsons' latest book, London Cemeteries in Old Photographs. For anyone with a love of cemeteries and chapels this is the perfect book for you.
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To give you a bit of background on the author, Brian has worked in the funeral industry in London since 1982. After working for JH Kenyon as a funeral director and embalmer he embarked upon a BA degree in Business Studies at the University of Westminster followed by a PhD which explored change in the British funeral industry during the twentieth century. In 1997 he returned to SCI (Dignity PLC) as a training consultant for the London area until becoming editor in 2005 and then features editor of the Funeral Service Journal. He now works freelance providing a training, consultancy and research service under the banner of Funeral Service Training (London). He also has a long-standing interest in cemeteries and crematoria and is an associate member of the ICCM.
This book is the perfect accompaniment to Brian’s publication of the sixth edition of London Cemeteries: An illustrated Guide and Gazetteer. It is a pictorial volume comprising of a collection of photographs which are mainly illustrations of postcards produced during the first two decades of the twentieth century.
The contents of the book are set out in alphabetical order starting with Abney Park cemetery and ending on Windsor cemetery. The rest of the book does not disappoint with images and narration from various London cemeteries including City of London Cemetery and Crematorium, the famous Highgate cemetery and the first of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries, Kensal Green.
Having been born and raised in London it was even more fascinating to see all the cemeteries I have frequented, and worked at, over the years, and to spot the changes that have taken place. Although a lot of the images show cemetery chapels and lodgings, there are also some that illustrate the landscape, showing the planting and memorials which now no longer exist. The Victorians celebrated death in a grand way. Their graves tended to be more elaborate than modern graves and it was expected that families would spend as much as it could afford on a monument to reflect the family’s social status.
I easily got immersed in this book, studying each image with fascination. For example, there is a photograph taken in New Southgate cemetery (formerly the Great Northern cemetery), dating back to 1903, which depicts three visitors posing for the photographer in their Victorian finery, in front of a cluster of memorials located near the chapel. The picture next to it shows the same area. Although the seat has disappeared and metal railings have been erected in front of the row of memorials together with the introduction of a telephone pole, the scene remains largely unchanged.
This book took me back in time and made me think about the history of our cemeteries. It is a book that you can pick up and flick through and read in any order. It is worthy of a place on your coffee table, set as a piece of décor, setting the tone for many conversations with your visitors.
London Cemeteries in Old Photographs is only available from:
www.brianparsons.org.uk for £12 including UK postage.
