Crossbones, a garden and graveyard for "the outcast dead": largely prostitutes, also the impoverished, the incriminated and children. Unmarked graves, burials denied rites from the church, from the 1500s to the 1800s. They say 15,000 people are here. Some people might be able to trace their geneaology back to a gravestone on a grassy hill in a cemetery. All the people treated like they were meant to be forgotten about or not considered worth remembering. It's an emotional visit, trying to imagine the lives of people struggling and suffering, then essentially discarded by the city. They deserve to be remembered because they weren't given the basic decency every person deserves. The site has, in its history, attempts to redevelop it, but in the past the idea had received numerous complaints from family of loved ones. Ran into these guys (last picture) who told me that most recently, there are now plans to tear this down and build flats on top while leaving some area for memorial. I looked it up and an article mentioned that flats will be built near the site, not on it. I hope London doesn't lose this because even if it doesn't generate a lot of money for the city like flats would, it's still an important part of #history. As a non-resident that's easy to say though, because it's also arguable that more living spaces are needed around the city. Thanks @rachel_mahreee for recommending I go here last time I was in London. Only now did I visit, and with the weather it was a good day to go out and appreciate it. #london #southwark #crossbones #sexwork #respectwomxn #neverforget #inmemoriam #respectthedead #andtheliving #becausethelivingstillfeel #forthedead #solotravel #backpacking #learning
