The FOBLC had a stall at the Nunhead Open Day on Sunday, and was successful in gaining new members as well as creating awareness of our new group.
Map
Monday
FOBLC stall at Nunhead Cemetery Open Day
Ernest Dowson
FOBLC member Mike Guilfoyle is campaigning to get Lewisham council to recognise one of its most remarkable residents by naming a street after Ernest Dowson. Here Mike writes about the 'decadent' poet who lies buried in the Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, with a bottle of absinthe by his grave to keep him company.
One of the most pleasurable spin-offs of having recently joined FOBLC was stumbling upon two of author Jad Adams books, one on the life & times of Victorian poet and writer, Ernest Dowson ( born Lee 1867- died Catford1900) 'Madder Music, Stronger Wine' and 'Hideous Absinthe' a biography of the 'Green Fairy' ( as Absinthe is popularly known). Ernest Dowson is buried in the cemetery, and was noted for his fondness for the drink. 'Indeed his racy observation, that 'absinthe makes the tart grow fonder' perhaps says something of why he was referred to as one of the 'decadent poets'. Being a depressive alcoholic laid low by consumption certainly appears to have resulted in his tragically early death aged 33 years. His other timeless but most quoted and borrowed lyrics, include' 'gone with the wind', days of wine and roses' and 'a stranger in a strange land'. He is even attributed as having coined the first known reference to 'soccer' ( socca). He was one of the very few friends who stood by the ailing playwright, Oscar Wilde, then living in exile in Paris. Jad Adams concluding line in his sympathetic biography is ' life presented him with suffering, and he returned it with beauty'. I was shocked to discover that within the borough , no existing street names as yet memorialise or celebrate his name. Although I have been assured via the Council that when new Lewisham street names are being researched that this situation might change. Ernest Dowson deserves to be better known today. Lets hope that this 'Morrissey' of his day is at least in the running for posthumous recognition, as one of the finest poets of the romantic late Victorian period.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
History and Notable Burials
Probably the most interesting (albeit gruesome) piece of history in Brockley Cemetery is a monument erected to the memory of Jane Clouson.
The monument was paid for by public money and stands alone amongst the trees - a praying child sits on top of a pillar.
Below the figure is an inscription detailing the horrific events surrounding her brutal murder on April 25th, 1871:
"A motherless girl who was murdered in Kidbrooke Lane Eltham age 17 in 1871. Her last words were, "Oh, let me die". "
The Scottish Times
News and intelligence from Scotland, and around the globe. Vol. II–No. 38.] Edinburgh, October 11, 1871. Price 3d.
[from Northstar Creative.co.uk]
GREENWICH MURDERER ACQUITTED. YESTERDAY, the Pook family of Greenwich, London, were forced to leave their family home, so strong was the feeling of the local community against them – the animosity having arisen from Mr E. Pooks recent acquittal at his trial, for the murder of Miss J. Clouson.
For anyone who has not been following the case, the public anger and resentment is quite understandable when one considers the undisputed evidence, in that: Jane Clouson was 17 year old when she gained employment at the Pook’s residence, that 3 years later Mr E. Pooks overcame her virtue, and that earlier this year the unfortunate girl found herself pregnant.
It was also revealed from testimonies that Miss J. Clouson had been led to believe Mr E. Pooks was going to make a respectable woman of her and, on the evening of her demise, she was going to meet him.
What follows next is a clear and exact series of events, which only a judge – with the mighty burden of the Law weighing down on his shoulders – could find circumstantial.
Sometime later on that fateful evening, a Constable discovered Jane Clouson in a wretched condition, crawling on Kidbrooke Lane with her head battered so severely, that one eye was hanging from its socket. She never fully regained consciousness, and died later in Guy’s Hospital.
Despite the facts that the accused was seen running from the lane, and that the murder weapon found at the scene – a hammer – had been sold to him by a local shopkeeper some days earlier, and that his trousers were covered in blood and mud : there still remained a “reasonable doubt”.
Mr Pooks claimed that he had spent the entire evening, awaiting with amorous intent, outside another ladies’ house in Greenwich – and this claim, much against everyone’s wishes, could not be disproved.
Notable burials:
Sir William Eames (1821-1897) Marine engineer
Sir John Gilbert (1817 - 1897) Illustrator, drawing for the 'Illustrated London News' and designed a cover for 'Punch'
Sir George Grove (1820 - 1900) First director of the Royal College of Music in 1882 - author of 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians)
Sir William Hardy (1807 - 1887) Deputy Keeper of Public Records 1878 - 1886
Sir Alexander Nisbet (1812 - 1892) Inspector General of the Royal Navy and honorary physician to the Queen
William Stephens (1817 - 1871) Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England
[information from London Cemeteries - Hugh Mellor]
Taken from London Necropolis
Posts
