Brompton Cemetery merits a visit any time of the year; springtime bluebells sprouting around the gravestones; macabre events by candlelight in the dissenters chapel during London Month of the Dead in October.
Each year in late summer, meanwhile, the sprawling Victorian cemetery hosts the Friends of Brompton Cemetery Annual Open Day — this year on Sunday 1 September 2024. While the cemetery is already free to roam during daylight hours, this one-off day is an opportunity for a proper deep dive. A number of free tours run, including an exploration of the symbols on headstones and monuments, an introduction to the cemetery's many trees, and a wander around its wildflowers.
Excitingly, there's also the chance to descend into its catacombs, the Victorian vault in which ornate coffins were stashed away on shelves, accessible for mourning relatives to visit. You can even see the wreaths left down here by the last people to pay their respects — now long gone themselves.
Brompton's open day isn't all tombs 'n' tours; various attractions and stalls include birds of prey, pedicab rides, children's storytelling and dog grooming advice. You can also buy jewellery, baskets, scarves, soaps and cards in the way of gifts and souvenirs, while keeping refreshed via the café, a crepe van and an ice cream van. For a place with 205,000 dead folk, Brompton Cemetery will be truly buzzing.
Friends of Brompton Cemetery Annual Open Day, 1 September, 11am-5pm, free
