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Cross Bones (also known as Crossbones) is a disused post-medieval Cemetery on Redcross Way in Southwark, South London.
Excavation reports state that "the ground is thought to have originally been established at least as early as the 17th century, as a single women’s (prostitutes’) cemetery. By 1769, it had become a paupers cemetery and remained so until its closure in 1853."Mikulski, R. (28 March 2007). "Cross Bones burial ground", Museum of London Archeology Service. These women were also known locally as "Winchester Geese" because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work within the Liberty of the Clink, an area outside the jurisdiction of the City of London where , theatres, bull baiting, bear baiting, and other activities not permitted within the city could be found.Lovejoy, Bess (21 October 2014). "The London Graveyard That's Become a Memorial for the City’s Seedier Past", Smithsonian.com.Kettler, Sarah Valente and Trimble, Carol. The Amateur Historian's Guide to Medieval and Tudor London, 1066-1600. London: Capital Books, p. 155.
As many as 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there before its closure in 1853.
By 1769 it had become a general pauper's cemetery for the local area, which was a notorious slum. The Cross Bones Burial Ground, Redcross Way, Southwark, London. Museum of London, 1999, pp. vii, 4, 29. The graveyard was described again in a 1795 history of St. Saviour's, Southwark:
The origin of the name "Cross Bones" for the site is also unknown. Its earliest known mention is in an 1833 work by antiquarian William Taylor, who is also the first historian to explicitly state that the modern site on Redcross Street is the same as the "single woman's churchyard" of Stow's era.
Investigations of the site ahead of its redevelopment were conducted by the Museum of London Archaeology Service between 1991 and 1998. Archaeologists found a highly overcrowded graveyard with bodies piled on top of one another, with those buried there having suffered diseases including smallpox, tuberculosis, Paget's disease, osteoarthritis, and vitamin D deficiency.
One dig alone in 1992 uncovered 148 graves, dating from between 1800 and 1853. More than a third of the bodies were perinatal (between 22 weeks gestation and seven days after birth), and a further 11 percent were under one year old. The adults were mostly women aged 36 and older. Based on the density of burials within the small excavated areas of the site, archaeologist have estimated that as many as 15,000 people are buried in Cross Bones.
One of the most significant Roman Empire archaeological sites ever found in London—including a mausoleum and highly preserved mosaic—was uncovered on the wider plot of land (just outside the boundaries of Cross Bones) in 2022.
In 2006, Southwark Council also installed a brass plaque:
In medieval times this was an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes or 'Winchester Geese'
The Outcast Dead
In 2004, writer and poet Frank Molloy published "Big Daves Gusset", a poem 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, singer-songwriter Frank Turner included a song about Cross Bones, called "The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead", on his album No Man's Land. His podcast, Frank Turner's Tales From No Man's Land, also featured an episode about the history of Cross Bones.
Singer-songwriter Reg Meuross included the song "The Crossbones Graveyard" on his album RAW in October 2019.
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."MoLAS monograph (1999). The Cross Bones Burial Ground, Redcross Way, Southwark, London. Museum of London, pp. vii, 4, 29; "Cross Bones Graveyard" , Southwark Council.
Walsh, John (14 March 2006). "Tales of the City: At the Cross Bones graveyard you can almost hear", The Independent. The land was sold in 1883 to be redeveloped, prompting an objection from Lord Brabazon in a letter to The Times, asking that it be saved from "such desecration."Lord Brabazon, Letter to the Editor, The Times, 10 November 1883, cited in Constable, John (2005). "Cross Bones graveyard", The Southwark Mysteries website. The sale was declared null and void the following year under the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884, and further attempts in the following years to develop the site (including a brief period as a fairground) were opposed by local people. However, after the removal of some of the remains to the parish facilities in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, the site was covered in warehousing and other commercial buildings, including a timber yard.Constable, John (2005). " Cross Bones graveyard". The Southwark Mysteries website.
Excavations
In 1989, Transport for London bought a large plot (including the then-derelict Cross Bones site) forming a triangle between Redcross Street, Union Street, and Southwark Street, with the intention of using the land as a work site for the Jubilee line extension.
Campaign to restore
In response to the threat of redevelopment, a local group, Friends of Cross Bones, formed in 1996 to campaign to preserve the graveyard and to raise awareness of its historical and cultural significance. From 2006 to 2012 the group also cultivated an unofficial "guerrilla" memorial garden on the site.
Cross Bones Graveyard
In 2013, Friends of Cross Bones and the Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) started campaigning together for Cross Bones to become an official garden of remembrance, dedicated to "the outcast dead."Constable, John (2007). Secret Bankside: Walks In the Outlaw Borough. London: Oberon Books, pp. 28–29, 80–81, 120–121. In 2019 the campaign succeeded, and BOST was granted a 30-year lease over the site by Transport for London.
Cross Bones is currently open to the public. The entrance gates are on Redcross Way, as is a permanent shrine where visitors can leave messages, ribbons, flowers and other tokens. Since June 2004, a short memorial ceremony has also been held at the gates on the 23rd of each month by Friends of Cross Bones.
By the 18th century it had become a paupers' burial ground, which closed in 1853.
Here, local people have created a memorial shrine.
RIP
Depictions in media
Cross Bones is a major inspiration for The Southwark Mysteries, a series of poems and mystery plays published from 1999 onwards by local author John Constable. Plays from the series were performed at Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral in 2000, and again in 2010."Shrouded in History", South London Press, 20 April 2000, p. 6; Petre, Jonathan and Sturdy, Gareth (14 May 2000). "Dean Rejects Critics Of Southwark's 'Swearing Jesus' Mystery Play" , The Sunday Telegraph. Constable claims that his stories were "transmitted" to him by "The Goose," the spirit of a medieval sex worker interred in the graveyard, and from 1998 to 2010 he hosted an annual Halloween "ritual drama" at Southwark Playhouse to honour all those buried there. Constable also co-founded Friends of Cross Bones in 1996, and led the group's monthly memorial services from their inception in June 2004 until November 2019.
Further reading
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