"Coffins on Display: Shining a Light on an Unexpected Task!" (13Feb2024) Serenity Sue

Serenity Sue:
"Welcome to Highgate Cemetery, today we go into the Catacombs.
I was asked by the tour guide to help with my light, which was super cool. This was perhaps the most secure part of the Cemetery in which to be buried. It was always kept locked, & an attendant would accompany any visitor or interment. Inside is a double range of compartments, twenty-nine on the north side and twenty-six on the south, with a wide corridor in between, lit by skylights. The compartments are divided into fifteen niches each large enough to receive a lead-lined coffin. The coffin would be placed in the niche, feet first, & the opening would be sealed with a block of white marble or granite sometimes with a glass pane, or an iron grate. Good ventilation was extremely important, & was provided by the three gated entrances on the south side, the shafts at both ends of the central corridor, as well as a range of shield-shaped openings on the south façade, many of which have since been blocked up.
The Terrace Catacombs are listed Grade II*, placing it in the top ranking 8%, as ‘probably the earliest surviving asphalted building in the country,’"

Original Source Video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y3XoNc1eBBo