Highgate Cemetery
- Highgate Cemetery map
- Address:
- Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, Highgate N6 6PJ
- Tel:
- Work 0208 340 1834
- Web:
- highgatecemetery.org
Opening times and price
- Opening hours:
- East Cemetery: 10 AM to 5 PM (Mon-Fri, Mar-Oct), 11 AM to 5 PM (Sat-Sun, Mar-Oct), 10 AM to 4 PM (Mon-Fri, Nov-Feb), 11 AM to 4 PM (Sat-Sun, Nov-Feb); Last entry 30 mins before closing – West Cemetery: Guided tour at 1.45 PM (Mon-Fri, Jan-Dec), and every 30 mins from 11 AM to 4 PM (Sat-Sun, Mar-Oct) or 11 AM to 3 PM (Sat-Sun, Nov-Feb)
- Ticket cost:
- Adults £12.00; Children £6.00 (8-17)
- Visiting hours and entry charges are subject to change
- Time required:
- A typical visit to Highgate Cemetery lasts 2 hours (approx)
Getting to Highgate Cemetery
- Parking:
- Find car parks near Highgate Cemetery
- Taxis:
- Find minicab firms near Highgate Cemetery
- Buses:
- 143, 210, 271, C2, C11
- London bus fares
- Trains:
- Archway
- London underground fares
Highgate Cemetery, London
Egyptian Avenue, Highgate Cemetery
The Circle of Lebanon, Highgate
Karl Marx’s tombstone
> Read Craig’s review of Highgate Cemetery Check out my London blog for a full review and photos
Highgate Cemetery is No.3 in our list of London’s best parks.
Highgate Cemetery was just one of a whole rash of cemeteries built in London during the early 19th-century. The city was suffering from a severe shortage of burial space at the time, with bodies packed in floors of chapels, crammed-in inches from their neighbours. People had started to complain of the stench during the hot summer months, so the Government stepped in to alleviate the crush.
They authorised the construction of seven large commercial cemeteries around the edge of the city, the most famous being Kensal Green and Highgate.
History of Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery dates from 1839, when the London Cemetery Company opened a 17.5 acre space to alleviate the strain. The government hoped that by making them commercial, the companies would be encouraged to build bigger and better grounds to accommodate the bodies.
Their plan undoubtedly worked, as Highgate’s grandiose layout – with fine views of the city from Highgate Hill – was designed by architect Stephen Geary and landscape gardener David Ramsay. The Victorians responded in kind by building some of the most flamboyant tombs in London. People literally couldn’t wait to die – so much so that a 19.5 acre extension was added in 1857.
As a taster for what awaits… imagine a tomb guarded by a cross-pawed lion, and a cricketer sleeping under a broken wicket. Famous graves include those of Karl Marx, Charles Dickens and George Eliot. You can also see the tombs of 18 Royal Academicians, six Lord Mayors of London and 48 Fellows of the Royal Society.
Many of the paths have been given grandiose names to match their surroundings – like the Circle of Lebanon. This is a ring of doors topped by a centuries-old cedar tree.
Friends of Highgate Cemetery
By the 20th-century the cemetery had fallen into disrepair and the graves had become overgrown. The dilapidated buildings looked like crumbling amongst the overgrowth. The Friends of Highgate Cemetery formed in the 1980s to return it to its former glory.
| Awful 0% | Poor 0% | Okay 0% | Good 33% | Great 67% |
Dr John – “I went on the tour, which is the only way you can visit it these days, and it is stunningly good. The whole place is overgrown with grass and weeds and trees, and looks a complete mess, but every now and then she will take you round a corner into a stunning location. Like the Circle of lebanon, and the tombs with huge egyptian columns. There are monuments with huge angels towering over you with moss patches on their bodies like they have been watching over the dead for hundreds of years. It is the most atmospheric place that I have ever been in London.”
Dr John – “I went on the tour, which is the only way you can visit it these days, and it is stunningly good. The whole place is overgrown with grass and weeds and trees, and looks a complete mess, but every now and then she will take you round a corner into a stunning location. Like the Circle of lebanon, and the tombs with huge egyptian columns. There are monuments with huge angels towering over you with moss patches on their bodies like they have been watching over the dead for hundreds of years. It is the most atmospheric place that I have ever been in London.”Ask a question about this attraction
Events at Highgate Cemetery
Guided tour of Highgate Cemetery From Highgate Cemetery Highgate
If you enjoy this then try: Brompton Cemetery (catch the tube from Highgate to Brompton Cemetery) and Highgate (you can walk it in 7 mins).