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The London Necropolis Company.

58FURY

Familiar Face
Messages
63
Location
Colchester England
New to the forum, I'm still trying work out what's appropriate and what hasn't been posted before.
I'm a fan of anything unusual and I love Spooky stuff!

The forum is obviously about clothing, history and materials circa 1930-40 in general.


Therefore I figured this might be of interest in a general area as it harks back to the past.

From 1850 until the 1950s in fact.

I hope you enjoy reading this, it's a little different.





By the mid 1800s all London's graveyards were full!!

An epidemic of Cholera broke out, due to the fact that bodies were simply exhumed and dumped to allow new burials, leaving body parts around to infect the living.

In the 1850's the London Necropolis Company was created.

attachment.php


As a result, the dead were shipped to the neighbouring Country of Surrey, along with mourning relatives or friends wishing to visit the graves of the dearly departed.

The London Necropolis Train travelled to this purpose built cemetery right up until the 1950s!!


The Cemetery is still there (guided tours are available) as are parts of two platforms and the Station Chapels.

All track has since gone, as are the stations.

attachment.php


But the idea has fascinated several authors... a number of horror Novels feature the London Train of Death as their main theme.

More info:

http://www.forteantimes.com/features...lis_train.html



I'm not sure just how appropriate this thread might be, but if anyone enjoyed it, I have a few more similar subjects I could write about, all relating to about 1920-1940.

If not.... tell me I'm weird and I'll shut up :eek:
 
Last edited:

bunnyb.gal

Practically Family
Messages
788
Location
sunny London
The first link doesn't work, but the second does [huh]. Thanks for this link - I too love anything spooky and this is a really interesting bit of history. It does just beg to be used in something Weird Tales-ish!
 

DJH

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,352
Location
Ft Worth, TX
Interesting stuff, 58Fury.

Our family has had an interesting connection with Brookwood Cemetery over the years.

The old owner, Ramadan Guney spent some time over in the US with us, wanting us to help him sell the place. If I remember correctly the asking price was really high for a business that (according to its books) was only just breaking even. Since then, one of Guney's sons was acquitted of hiring a hitman to kill my sister who had had a relationship with the old geezer - even though he was in his 70's and I think 30's for her at the time.

Crazy stuff!
 

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