Before I became so miserable I went on a cemetery walk at St James Cemetery in Toronto. It was built in 1844 and is the oldest cemetery that is still in operation in the city. When it was built, it was way out in the country, far away from the (Anglican) St James Cathedral it served. Now it is very much in the downtown at the edge of the ravine that divides the city into east and west.
and because I want to amuse myself, I am playing with the colour balances and special effects to make everything look very much greener....
Though, unlike Mt Pleasant up in the north end of the city, it does not lead you from one major street to another.
The gates with the chapel up on the knoll (although it doesn't look like much of a hill in this view, it is the highest point on the grounds)
A marks where the church is located and B shows where the new cemetery was built after the original became full*. Although it is only a distance of one and a half miles, when it was opened, there was a population of roughly 18,000 and the majority of them lived below Queen Street.
find more grave facts at Taphophile Tragics.
+ I will visit you all when I can breathe easier.....
* the interred were moved to the new site, but there are still apparently some unmarked graves under the parking lot of the church.
That old one is the sort of cemetery I like.
ReplyDeleteI like that you can walk around it and find all sorts of names that look familiar from the city's history.
DeleteI LOVE that first photo. Love it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. Looks like a fabulous place to spend a few hours.
ReplyDeleteBeneath Thy Feet
I used to work near there, but it has been years since I walked through the cemetery. it is located in my favourite part of the city.
Deletethis looks to be very well laid out (according to the cemetery map) in what must be an awkward bit of land.
ReplyDeleteit sort of looks like a typical Toronto street grid plan, doesn't it?
DeleteHope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post and lovely shots of this historic cemetery.
thanks.
DeleteI love how all the tombstones are tumbling down the hillside. HOpefully, the departed are tethered beneaTH the ground.
ReplyDeleteI suspect this is the sort of cemetery that I would love to meander through as well. It does look rather sparsely populated in your images. Some of ours have the appearance of being sparesely populated because so many of the departed do not have a tombstone to mark their resting place. 'John Howard' is an ex-Prime Minister of Australia, whom I did not like all that much!
I have noticed that the Australian cemeteries do seem to be more crowded than ours.
DeleteIt was fun going on this walk with a guide to remind us of the stories of the people under the stones.
get better soon!
ReplyDeletei also somehow like all those toppled stones... :)
it is sad, yet so photogenic.
DeleteHope you stop sneezing soon.
ReplyDeletethe sniffling is the worst part.
Deletebut, thanks.
I agree: summer colds are particularly unjust. Do you ever use zinc lozenges? I do find they make a difference...but you have to pop one at the first sign of impending cold.
ReplyDeleteCemeteries are some of my favorite places--to run, to walk, to dream of past lives. Lovely photos.
Hope you feel better soon. Love the photos, but I do wonder what happens to the coffins and bodies on a steep hill.............
ReplyDelete