Highgate Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in Highgate, London, England. The cemetery in its original form was opened in 1839, part of an initiative to provide seven large, modern cemeteries in a ring round the outside of London. The inner-city cemeteries, mostly the graveyards attached to individual churches, had long been unable to cope with the number of burials and were seen as a hazard to health and an undignified way to treat the dead. Highgate, like the others, soon became a fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. The Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. In 1854, the area to the east of the original area across Swains Lane was purchased to form the eastern part of the cemetery.
This part is still used today for burials, as is the Western part. The cemetery's grounds are full of old-growth trees, shrubbery and wildflowers that are a haven for birds and small animals like foxes. The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The newer section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.
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