Down a quiet road in Southwark, London, Crossbones Graveyard
is marked by this modest sign.
First recorded in 1598, the graveyard is the final resting
place for the prostitutes who worked in Southwark’s brothels. Somehow the sign,
in its rough and ready state, is a touching tribute to the struggles of the
women buried here.
Activities forbidden within London’s city walls flourished across
the river in Southwark. It became home to the seedier, smellier side of life
that wasn’t welcome in the city: tanneries, breweries, bear pits, taverns and
brothels.
The graveyard was closed in 1853 and largely left until the
1990s when the Museum of London excavated it during the course of some London
Underground work. You may have seen the BBC documentary (2010) which identified
one of the skeletons as a child prostitute and detailed the difficult life she
would have had.
The local community has taken this neglected burial ground
of forgotten souls into its heart. There are regular vigils, offerings are left
on the gates and the shrine attracts around 50,000 people a year, remembering the
outcasts.
Bonus picture of the offerings on the gate
.JPG)
