The city of

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, has several

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

spaces, although the high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

limits subterranean construction. There has been a long tradition of burial under the floors of churches, and during the period of new church construction in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

many were provided with vaults or crypts under the main structure. In London's private

Magnificent Seven cemeteries The "Magnificent Seven" is an informal term applied to seven large private cemeteries in London. They were established in the 19th century to alleviate overcrowding in existing parish burial grounds as London’s population grew during the Vic ...

, opened between 1833 and 1841, there are several purpose-built catacombs, including those of

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

, which has a collection of historic monuments on a landscaped hill. Its catacombs, opened in 1837, were built below chapels and included a group of 95 vaults with private and shared

loculi Loculi ( sc, Lòcula) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northeast of Nuoro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 538 and an area of . ...

with a capacity of 3,500 coffins.

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

and Brompton cemeteries have extensive catacombs built underground, whilst

Nunhead Cemetery Nunhead Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries in London, England. It is perhaps the least famous and celebrated of them. The cemetery is located in Nunhead in the London Borough of Southwark and was originally known as All Saints' ...

also has a smaller one underground.

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

is unique in that its "Terrace Catacombs" are built into the slope of a hill and accessed at ground level. Situated at the summit of the Cemetery, it houses 825 loculi under a long observation terrace on which

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

was laid, one of the first examples of its use for this purpose in England. The Camden catacombs are an extensive range of passages largely underneath what later became the

Camden markets The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead ...

, constructed in the 19th century, which were originally used as stables for horses and pit ponies working on the railways. The catacombs also included an underground pool for canal boats. The Clerkenwell Catacombs are a complex of tunnels originally situated beneath the Clerkenwell House of Detention, and once contained 286 prison cells. The

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

is long gone, replaced by the Hugh Myddelton School, but the catacombs remain. Although the space was once open to the public as a minor tourist attraction, it is now only accessible to film crews and the occasional private event.

References

External links

Subterranea Britannica: West Norwood Cemetery Catacombs

Subterranea Britannica: Camden Catacombs

Camden Catacombs, 21 feet under, in London
* Buildings and structures in London

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Infrastructure in London Subterranean London {{London-struct-stub

See also

References

External links