An old lion rests, eyes open, at the edge of the path, bats flitter among branches of an oak tree, a fox slinks into the undergrowth, children’s laughter echoes in the summer evening air. Where in heaven or earth are we?

The lion is made of stone but the bats and fox are very much alive and thriving in Abney Park Cemetery just a few steps from Stoke Newington High Street in London. With or without the king of beasts,  you will find similar urban jungles in most cities across the country. Cemeteries are one of the new wild frontiers in our man-made landscapes.

Something interesting is happening among lichen-encrusted gravestones. Municipal garden cemeteries carefully laid out in the 19th century to provide a last resting place for city people have become sanctuaries for the birds, beasts and insects that struggle for survival in the countryside.

Looking up into the branches of a twisting and gnarled old tree

A fine old Camperdown elm watches over Rosebank cemetery in North Edinburgh

The Victorian ‘cities of the dead’ are home to of all kinds of life the original designers probably would not have anticipated. These parks, designed to banish fear of dying, were often made by fencing off large chunks of farmland or suburban green space at a time when fields and hedges were full of wild flowers. Their seeds lay hidden in the soil. Now nature is reclaiming ground rich in diversity.

Manchester is one of several cities taking advantage of this natural cycle. The city council has designated Southern Cemetery a nature reserve. Now the last resting place of Sir Matt Busby and LS Lowry offers bird and bat watching tours among safaris through the UK’s largest burial ground (it covers 40 hectares or almost 100 acres).

Graveyard safaris are an interesting new twist in the evolution of human graveyards. Cemeteries are now an often hidden treasure trove of archaeology, architecture, wild life and human history. Walking Heads tours already tiptoe around the edges of some fascinating places – the Necropolis in Glasgow (Stop 4: Glasgow Landmarks), created in the early 19th century to provide grand resting places for the city’s wealthy merchants, is rich in both human and natural history. Greyfriars Kirkyard, dating back to the late 16th century, holds very much more than Bobby’s headstone (although that’s what attracts 240,000 visitors to the graveyard: Stop 16 Edinburgh Comedy Tour) – there are links with 18th century Covenanters and 19th century graverobbers. In Govan Old Church (Stop 3 Clydeside Promenade) the beautiful hogback gravestones make a fascinating link with Govan’s Viking past in the old kingdom of Strathclyde.

The stone lion reposing on a handsome stone plinth in Abney Park cemetery, graveyard safari

King of beasts: the lion marks the grave of Frank Bostock, ‘Animal King’ in Abney Park

Countless untold or forgotten stories lie behind headstones in every cemetery. That lion of Abney Park Cemetery (one of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ garden cemeteries) marks the grave of Frank Bostock, (1866-1912) a ‘menagerie manager’ and circus owner whose colourful life earned him the title The Animal King. His exploits and achievements included recapturing a lion which had escaped into the sewers of Birmingham, introducing the ‘big cage’ into Britain – and discovering that big cats were wary of chairs because of their four legs.

Bringing visitors into cemeteries is a key aim for conservation groups which means meeting the sometimes conflicting needs of a fragile built environment and even more complex colonising ecosystems. When to cut the grass and where to let wild flowers grow round headstones? How to honour the dead and preserve precious new life?

These are questions being met by a range of different heritage groups and charities across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The answers, we hope, will open a new trails stretching back across thousands of years.

“Managing a graveyard sensitively enhances the cultural aspects of the church building. The experience of exploring a church’s rich history is dramatically improved when visitors arrive to find pathways well kept, trees well cared for and clear indications that biodiversity is being actively promoted. The latter might include an area of ground with a different cutting or mowing regime with interpretation explaining what the visitor is likely to see at different times of the year. A sterile, over-managed exterior can mar a fascinating church interior. Equally, an unkempt graveyard can ruin a visit to a historic church, giving the impression that the local community neither cares about its local church, nor welcomes visitors to explore it.”

Read more about the conservation of Scotland’s graveyards in Kirkyard Heritage.

 

A dramatic green statue of a mourning women, draped over monument in Milan's 'city of the dead'

A story at every grave side. Who knows the story behind this monument in Milan’s Monumentale cemetery?