A Brief History of Highgate

This grand cemetery in North London’s borough of Camden first opened its gates in 1839 and has since become the final resting place for around 170,000 individuals buried within 53,000 graves.

The graveyard was first constructed during the time of the Industrial Revolution when the city was bursting at the seams with people. This huge population boom unfortunately came with a high mortality rate, especially among the young. To help tackle the health issues caused by overcrowded and shallow graves in the city, graveyards like Highgate were established outside of the city limits. Places like Highgate could help reduce disease seeping from crowded graveyards as well as worries about grave robbers stealing loved ones from a shallow grave in the middle of the night.

Highgate became the height of fashion and the place to be buried during the Victorian era, its peaceful greenery was used as a respite and visited by the masses as an escape from the city.

In the aftermath of World War 1, this once respected burial ground was left to decay, its gates closed, and its graves became overgrown with time as nature started to reclaim it. During the 1970s, the cemetery had become quite run down and eerie. People believed it was a site for satanic rituals as well as a haven for rowdy teens, and claimed to have witnessed some very creepy sightings from within the gates.

Fortunately, the site was eventually taken over and saved by a group of volunteers who look after the graveyard to this day, protecting and restoring the monuments to their former glory.

The cemetery is divided into two sections: the West side, which is where you'll find some interesting architectural features like the Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon, and the East side, which started being used about 30 years later and is home to the grave of Karl Marx. It is still an active graveyard with burials still taking place today.

Dr Liston and The Surgery That Killed Three People

Dr Robert Liston (1794 – 1847) was a British surgeon who worked in Victorian times, before anaesthesia was used on patients. He is remembered for being the first surgeon to publicly operate on a patient with the use of an anaesthetic later in his career and is said to have helped save thousands of lives during his years of practice. However, surgical practices back then were wildly different from todays. Patients were wide awake during surgery, and about 25% wouldn't make it out alive, often due to massive blood loss or post-surgery gangrene. And hygiene? Very little, if any existed. Surgeons frequently operated with the blood of their last patient still splattered on their hands and apron.

Dr Liston however was quite famous in his day as only 1 in 10 of his patients died on his operating table. This is most likely because he washed his hands and equipment before each new operation, which would greatly reduce the risk of a post-op infection. Aside from his hygienic practices, he was also renowned for his lightning-fast speed with the scalpel. Legend has it he could completely amputate a human leg in just two and half minutes, bone and all! Quite an important skill for patients who had to endure the operation while awake and while trying not to bleed to death.

Aside from his great feats above, Dr Liston also holds a rather infamous title, the highest mortality rate from a single surgery. While removing some poor patients’ leg one day, with his usual trademark speed, he not only cut off the leg, but also his assistants’ fingers as well as cutting the coat of a spectator standing nearby. This caused the spectator to die there and then from shock while both the patient and the assistant later died of gangrene from their wounds, giving a total 300% mortality rate from a single operation!

The grave of Dr Liston in the Terrace Catacomb

Other Notable Graves

Dr Liston’s grave can be seen at Highgate cemetery where he is laid to rest in the terrace catacombs over in the West cemetery among other notable people such as the renowned scientist Michael Faraday and more recently, the pop legend George Michael. You’ll also find the lead-lined grave of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who was assassinated by radioactive material after defecting from Russia in 2006.

Over on the East side, you can find the graves of the writer Douglas Adams, which is overflowing with pens from fans paying their respect. And of course, the most famous grave of them all: Karl Marx in all its glory.

The Vampire of Highgate

Back in 1969, reports of a dark figure lurking in Highgate cemetery began to emerge along with reports of dead foxes found in the vicinity with lacerations around their throats. It was speculated that the strange happenings were due to a vampire hiding amongst the graves. Publicity of the story led to widespread panic and hysteria which culminated in a mob of vampire hunters descending on the graveyard armed with wooden stakes in hand and the destruction and desecration of a number of graves.

Following the event, two schoolgirls had the unpleasant fortune to stumble upon a 100-year-old corpse that had been dug up, dragged from the grave, decapitated and found with a wooden stake through its heart. The hysteria eventually died out following a psychic seance held in the graveyard to help exercise the demon.

More recently, a number of sightings have been reported starting in the early 90s to the present day. The dark figure with burning eyes is described as being very tall and thin, dressed all in black, wearing a cape and top hat. He appears to glide rather than walk on the ground and makes no sound. So you may not want to linger too long after sundown!

The Exploding Coffins of Highgate

If the vampires and exorcisms aren’t enough, then watch out for the exploding coffins of Highgate! During the graveyard’s heyday, the caretakers started to notice something strange happening with the coffins and even some of the doors in the Egyptian avenue in the West side of the cemetery. They kept finding them open and looking a bit disturbed. Thought originally to be the work of grave robbers, it soon became evident that something weirder was going on. The graves were being opened as if from the inside!

Turns out that it wasn’t due to the undead, but instead a naturally occurring phenomenon. When a body is left in a coffin, it starts to decompose. Bacteria begin to degrade the tissues creating gas in the process. This gas can build up with time, and with nowhere to escape, the coffin eventually gives, and in some cases, even explode! The problem was eventually solved by introducing small pipes into the coffin so that the gases could be periodically burned off.

Top Tips

Take the tour, it’s sure to entertain and give you unique stories of the site and the people who lie within. Guided tours run daily and are the only way to see the terraced catacombs in the West cemetery. The tour is quite enjoyable and there are plenty of stories about the residents that will keep even the kids entertained. It lasts about one hour and includes a tour of the West side as well as entry to the East for a self-guided tour.

Address

Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ.

Getting there

By car: There is no allocated visitor parking, but free street parking is available on the street on weekends and after 12 noon on weekdays.

By tube: ARCHWAY tube is the closer of the tube stops via High Barnet branch, Northern line. It is then a 15–20-minute walk to the cemetery entrance that divides the West from the East sites.

Prices

Adults £10, Children 8-17 £5, Children 0-7 Free for both the West and East side.

A ticket for the East side only is available to buy at the Cemetery on the day of your visit.
Adults £7, Children 8-17 £3.50, Children 0-7 Free.

Tickets for the tour: Adults £18, Children 8-17 £9; The price includes admission to Highgate Cemetery on the day of the tour, so there's no need to buy separate entrance tickets.

Tickets available online in advance or at the gate at no additional cost.

Opening times

March to October

Open daily from 10am to 5pm
Last entry 4.30pm

November to February

Open daily from 10am to 4pm
Last entry 3.30pm
Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Highgate Cemetery, London England