Discovering Cross Bones Graveyard
Tucked away behind an unassuming set of iron gates on a quiet backstreet near Borough Market lies one of London’s most haunting, poetic, and powerful historic sites: Cross Bones Graveyard.
It’s not a typical tourist stop, which is exactly why you should visit.
This extraordinary place isn’t just a burial ground. It’s a living memorial, a grassroots cultural site, and a symbol of remembrance for the forgotten souls of London’s past.
Cross Bones began its existence as an unconsecrated post-medieval graveyard, used to bury “single women”, or prostitutes, known in the medieval Bankside area as “Winchester Geese”. These women worked in brothels (known as “stews”) that were run by the Bishop of Winchester. Although the Church directly benefitted from their labour, these women were denied Christian burials, which is how they came to be buried in unconsecrated grounds outside the city walls.
In Shakespeare’s time, the area of the South Bank occupied in part by the graveyard was known as “London’s Pleasure Quarter”, with “theatres, bear-pits, taverns, and brothels” lining the lively streets.
As time went on, Cross Bones became a pauper’s graveyard, holding the remains of an estimated 15,000 people, more than half of whom were children. In Victorian times, Redcross Street, where the graveyard is located, was a dangerous and dirty slum. According to the Friends of Cross Bones, it is also said to have been a favourite location of body snatchers who came to steal body parts for anatomy clinics at nearby Guy’s Hospital.
Cross Bones was officially closed in 1853 due to overcrowding and public health concerns, but remains a site of tranquility, history, and remembrance of London’s forgotten residents.
Today, Cross Bones is far more than an archaeological site. The gates at Redcross Way are decorated with ribbons, notes, photos, poems, and offerings. Each item remembers not just those buried here centuries ago, but anyone who has felt marginalized, voiceless, or forgotten.
Thanks in large part to poet and activist John Constable, who revived the graveyard’s story through his performances and writings (as his mystical alter ego, The Goose), Cross Bones has become a place of quiet resistance, celebration, and care.
Every 23rd of the month at 7pm, people gather for a candlelit vigil to honor the outcast dead and reflect on those still cast aside in our own time.
Cross Bones Graveyard is not just a forgotten corner of the city — it's a powerful statement about who gets remembered, and how we choose to honor our dead. If you’re in London and looking for something off the beaten path, soulful, and thought-provoking, Cross Bones is absolutely worth your time.