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Swains Lane, Highgate, London, N6
Tel: +44 (0)20 8340 1834

Close to Hampstead Heath stands Highgate Hill and on top of the hill, the pleasant village of Highgate. The village has a number of interesting antique shops and cafes. The only down side is the rather busy main road that cuts through the middle. Still, Waterlow Park on the hill is very peaceful and for even more peace there is always historic Highgate Cemetery.

Highgate Cemetery's most famous resident must surely be Karl Marx (1818-1883), the Communist revolutionary. German born Marx made London his permanent home in 1849 after he was expelled from both Prussia and France because of his radical views. In London he worked in the British Library, writing Das Kapital, which is considered to be his greatest work. This was quite an achievement, considering that when he arrived in London he tried to get a job as a ticket clerk at Paddington Station but was rejected because of his poor handwriting.

It wasn't all work though. There are numerous reports of Marx going on pub-crawls down Oxford Street. On one occasion, after rather too much drink, he and a friend started turning traffic signs around and were chased by a policeman. His friend was arrested but Marx managed to give the police the slip.

There are many other notable residents in the cemetery including George Elliot the British novelist and Michael Faraday.

The Irish novelist Bram Stoker (1847-1912) used to enjoy walking in the peace of Highgate cemetery. It has been said that while sitting on a broken tomb to eat his lunch, he saw a shaft of sunlight shine through a crack in the tomb lid and this led him to imagine what would happen if the sunlight awoke the occupant below. From that idea grew his most famous novel - Dracula.

Swain's Lane splits the cemetery into two sides. Marx is buried in the eastern side. Although this is relatively newer than the western cemetery it does contain many interesting tombs. The older west side was opened in 1839 and now is only open for guided tours. The west side is being left to age gracefully and contains an enormous amount of plant life and animals, including foxes.

It is well worth taking a tour to see the Egyptian Avenue, which is a striking street cut into the side of the sloping ground, full of vaults complete with front doors.

The tour guides are volunteers who belong to the 'Friends of Highgate Cemetery' and their enthusiasm for the cemetery is contagious.

Opening Times
April - October 10:00 - 17:00
November - March 10:00 - 16:00

Nearest Underground (Tube) Station: Archway.