Stone Gardens

We once built wonderous gardens with the dead, where one could walk among the living and talk to the stones.

It's interesting how much our views on, and interaction with these places, have changed in the last 150 years. I only know of 2 people who would walk these grave gardens now and do so with the balanced appreciation of death AND life that the Victorians intended. Most would solely consider visiting them a sombre affair, something reserved for anniversaries, or wholly avoided unless the path through them was one of great convenience.

Now this is a good place for a disclaimer, obviously I'm focusing on the relationship with death and design of graveyards in England, in a rather small time window. It should go without saying, but i'll say it for the internets sake anyway, that humanities relationship with death and the dead is beyond varied across nations, religions, and time.

These garden cemeteries though were not built solely to contain sorrow. At a time when mortality rates were so high, there was a cultural need for what has become known as the "beautification of death" as a way to reconcile with reality, and overtime create a healthier way to mourn. When creating them the Victorians envisioned them contributing to a sort of moral improvement. This would be bought about by the time spent surrounded by nature, the stories of the dead, and all that contemplation may bring, including an appreciation and celebration of life. This is of course not to say that the Victorians weren't sombre, or did not mourn in solemn respect, they most certainly did. It is more to say that their view and interaction with the dead was not wholly one sided.

Nowadays i find some people almost think it taboo to visit a cemetery where no one you know is laid to rest. Yet the Victorians always intended these to be places where all could visit. In 1859 Jules Verne noted on one such visit that the tombs were "like charming cottages where life flows past, leisurely and pleasant". In fact some cemeteries in London became so busy on weekends as to necessitate their own police forces to help keep order amongst the crowds. Highgate cemetery even ran an ad in the local paper talking of the wonderful sculptural Egyptian inspired obelisks that marked its grounds.

Imagine that, holding such a place for the dead among the living. Building great monuments not just to adorn the passing of a life but to encourage those who never knew the buried to appreciate their own life, all whilst providing beauty and a setting for them to do so.

They became, and still are, places of wonderful craftsmanship, a record of visual language, and somewhere to celebrate life, even if we fail to make use of that opportunity. The artistry alone should call us there more often. What's more and of particular interest to the artists among you im sure, is the secret language of symbols hidden throughout these stone sentinels.

Now these symbols arent just the result of Victorian occultism or eccentricity, they provided a purpose which once again speaks to the Victorians intent that all should spend time in these grave gardens. These symbols were designed and put in place to tell the stories otherwise etched in letters on the tombs. This is because, despite continual improvement, literacy rates among Victorians saw roughly half the population being literate to some degree. This meant you had a great need to communicate beyond words, as even those who could read to some degree would not always be wholly literate.

So we find a whole host of visual communication not just etched in to the stone, but dictating its entire form. Full columns spoke of a full life well lived, and broken columns the of life cut short. Anchors told us of a well earned rest and a love of the sea. The Egyptian obelisk noted the adventurous non conformists, less symbolically and more so within the cultural context and fashions of the time. The many forms the angels take may tell us of a persons devotion to god in life, or they may be draped in the sorrow of those left behind. The various foliage real or in stone spoke of ivys evergreen memories, roses long held love, or the weeping tears of a willow. The dove of the holy spirit or the eagle of war may adorn ones headstone, or even the frog of sin or the dog of loyalty.

All of this is to say that whilst we still build tombs and stones that tell of life, we still inscribe and shape symbols that meant something to the dead and reassure the living, we no longer seem to do so with a view beyond our own life's direct connections and impact. I feel it is quite a thing to lose in a society, this connection with the dead and all the appreciation it brings for life. So I feel lucky to live in a place were there are still many of these cemeteries where I an walk, and listen to the stones, and smile for the tears they remind me of.