Cross Bones is a disused post-medieval

burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

on Redcross Way in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there. It was closed in 1853. Cross Bones is thought to have been established originally as an

unconsecrated ''Unconsecrated'' is the debut studio album by Australian deathcore band The Red Shore, released on 8 November 2008. It was originally set for a 22 September release through Siege of Amida Records, but was delayed. A limited edition was release ...

graveyard for prostitutes, or "single women", who were known locally as "Winchester Geese" because they were licensed by the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

to work within the

Liberty of the Clink The Liberty of the Clink was an area in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite the City of London. Although situated in Surrey the liberty was exempt from the jurisdiction of the county's high sheriff and was under the jurisd ...

.Lovejoy, Bess (21 October 2014)
"The London Graveyard That's Become a Memorial for the City’s Seedier Past"
Smithsonian.com. The area lay outside the jurisdiction of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and as a consequence became known for its

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s and theatres, as well as

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

and bear baiting, activities not permitted within the City itself.Mikulski, R. (28 March 2007)
"Cross Bones burial ground"
Museum of London Archeology Service.Kettler, Sarah Valente and Trimble, Carol. ''The Amateur Historian's Guide to Medieval and Tudor London, 1066-1600''. London: Capital Books, p. 155. By 1769 it had become a pauper's cemetery servicing St. Saviour's parish.

History

Origins

Cross Bones, Southwark, London, January 2013

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The C ...

, in his ''A Survey of London'' (1598), made mention of a "Single Woman's churchyard" in Southwark, near

the Clink The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Lib ...

: It was mentioned again in 1795 in a history of St. Saviour's, Southwark: The antiquarian William Taylor wrote in 1833: “There is an unconsecrated burial ground known as the Cross Bones at the corner of Redcross Street, formerly called the Single Woman's burial ground, which is said to have been used for this purpose." By 1769 it was being used as a cemetery for the poor of St. Saviour's parish. Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there.

Closure and sale

The graveyard was closed in 1853 because it was "completely overcharged with dead", and further burials were deemed "inconsistent with a due regard for the public health and public decency". According to Southwark writer

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

, the land was sold as a building site in 1883, prompting an objection from Lord Brabazon in November that year in a letter to ''The Times'', asking that it be saved from "such desecration". Constable writes that the sale was declared null and void the following year under the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884, and that subsequent attempts to develop the site were opposed by local people, as was its brief use as a fairground. After removal of remains to the parish facilities in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

, Surrey, the site was covered in warehousing and other commercial buildings.Constable, John (2005).
Cross Bones graveyard
. The Southwark Mysteries website.

Plaque

In 2006 Southwark Council funded the erection of a brass plaque reading as follows:

Cross Bones Graveyard In medieval times this was an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes or 'Winchester Geese'
But by the 18th century it had become a paupers' burial ground, which closed in 1853.
Here, local people have created a memorial shrine. The Outcast Dead
RIP

Excavation

Excavations were conducted on the land by the

Museum of London Archaeology Service MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), providing a wide range of professional archaeological servic ...

between 1991 and 1998 in connection with the construction of

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...

Southwark Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

reports that the archaeologists found a highly overcrowded graveyard with bodies piled on top of one another. Tests showed those buried had suffered from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, Paget's disease,

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

, and

vitamin D deficiency Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D defic ...

. A dig in 1992 uncovered 148 graves, dating from between 1800 and 1853. Over one third of the bodies were

perinatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

(between 22 weeks

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...

and seven days after birth), and a further 11 percent were under one year old. The adults were mostly women aged 36 and older.

Depictions in media

Beginning in 1996,

began to publish ''The Southwark Mysteries'', a series of poems and mystery plays. The work has been performed in

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

and in

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

. Interest generated by ''The Southwark Mysteries'' inspired the Cross Bones

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

festival, celebrated every year since 1998 with a procession, candles and songs. Material affixed to the Gates of Cross Bones Graveyard (04)

In 2004, London writer and poet Frank Molloy wrote the verse "Big Daves Gusset" about the burial plot. The title refers to a piece of graffiti on the adjacent wall of a burnt-out shed. The poem was included in his 2020 book ''Soul City Wandering''. In August 2019, English singer-songwriter

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...

included a song about Cross Bones, called "The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead", on his album ''No Man's Land''. Additionally, his podcast, ''Frank Turner's Tales From No Man's Land'', includes an episode about the history of Cross Bones. Also in 2019 another English singer-songwriter,

Reg Meuross Reg Meuross is an English singer and songwriter based in Somerset. Meuross first emerged on the British acoustic music scene in 1986 when he formed The Panic Brothers with comedian Richard Morton. He made an album called ''In The Red'', prod ...

, included the song "The Crossbones Graveyard" on his album "RAW". An informal local group, Friends of Cross Bones, has campaigned for a permanent memorial garden.Constable, John (2007). ''Secret Bankside: Walks In the Outlaw Borough''. London: Oberon Books, pp. 28–29, 80–81, 120–121. The network liaised with Bankside Open Spaces Trust during 2013–18 to create and maintain a community garden of remembrance dedicated to the 'outcast dead'. The current garden is a result of work of the Friends of Cross Bones over 20 years. The graveyard gates are permanently decorated by a changing array of messages, ribbons, flowers and other tokens; a short memorial ceremony is held at the gates on the 23rd of each month in the early evening.