Contents

Cross Bones

Cross Bones
Internal view of the Cross Bones gate
Details
Established	1598; 426 years ago (1598) (Earliest mention)
Closed	1853; 171 years ago (1853)
Location	Redcross Way, Southwark, south London, SE1
Country	England
Type	Prostitutes and paupers
Owned by	Transport for London (as of 2014)[1]
No. of graves	Up to 15,000
Website	crossbones.org.uk

Cross Bones is a disused post-medieval burial ground on Redcross Way in Southwark, south London.^[2] Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there. It was closed in 1853.

Cross Bones is thought to have been established originally as an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes, or "single women", who were known locally as "Winchester Geese" because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work within the Liberty of the Clink.^[1][3] The area lay outside the jurisdiction of the City of London and as a consequence became known for its brothels and theatres, as well as bull and bear baiting, activities not permitted within the City itself.^[4][5] By 1769 it had become a pauper's cemetery servicing St. Saviour's parish.

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

John Stow, in his A Survey of London (1598), made mention of a "Single Woman's churchyard" in Southwark, near the Clink:

Next on this [west bank of the Thames] was sometimes the Bordello, or Stewes, a place so called of certain stew-houses privileged there, for the repair of incontinent men to the like women ... I have heard of ancient men, of good credit, report, that these single women were forbidden the rites of the church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground called the Single Woman's churchyard, appointed for them far from the parish church.^[6]

It was mentioned again in 1795 in a history of St. Saviour's, Southwark:

Our readers will remember that, in the account we have given of the Stews on Bank-side, mention is made of a piece of ground, called the Single Woman’s Burying Ground, set apart as the burial place of those unfortunate females; we are very much inclined to believe this was the spot, for in early times the ceremony of consecration would certainly not have been omitted; and if it had been performed, it would doubtless have appeared by some register, either in the possession of the Bishop of Winchester, or in the proper ecclesiastical court. We find no other place answering the description given of a ground appropriated as a burial place for these women, circumstances, therefore, justify the supposition of this being the place; for it was said, the ground was not consecrated; and the ordination was that they should not be buried in any spot so sanctified.^[7]

The antiquarian William Taylor wrote in 1833: “There is an unconsecrated burial ground known as the Cross Bones at the corner of Redcross Street, formerly called the Single Woman's burial ground, which is said to have been used for this purpose."^[1] By 1769 it was being used as a cemetery for the poor of St. Saviour's parish. Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there.^[8]

Closure and sale[edit]

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".^[9] According to Southwark writer John Constable, the land was sold as a building site in 1883, prompting an objection from Lord Brabazon in November that year in a letter to The Times, asking that it be saved from "such desecration".^[10] Constable writes that the sale was declared null and void the following year under the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884, and that subsequent attempts to develop the site were opposed by local people, as was its brief use as a fairground. After removal of remains to the parish facilities in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, the site was covered in warehousing and other commercial buildings.^[11]

Plaque[edit]

In 2006 Southwark Council funded the erection of a brass plaque reading as follows:

Cross Bones Graveyard

In medieval times this was an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes or 'Winchester Geese'
By the 18th century it had become a paupers' burial ground, which closed in 1853.
Here, local people have created a memorial shrine.

The Outcast Dead
RIP

Excavation[edit]

Excavations were conducted on the land by the Museum of London Archaeology Service between 1991 and 1998 in connection with the construction of London Underground's Jubilee line. Southwark Council reports that the archaeologists found a highly overcrowded graveyard with bodies piled on top of one another. Tests showed those buried had suffered from smallpox, tuberculosis, Paget's disease, osteoarthritis, and vitamin D deficiency.^[12]

A dig in 1992 uncovered 148 graves, dating from between 1800 and 1853. Over one 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.^[4]

Depictions in media[edit]

Beginning in 1996, John Constable began writing The Southwark Mysteries, an epic cycle of poems and mystery plays together with a 'glossolalia' of esoteric lore.^[3] Constable claimed the work was directly transmitted to his alter ego John Crow by The Goose, the spirit of a medieval sex worker licensed by the Bishop of Winchester yet buried in the unconsecrated Cross Bones burial ground.^[13] The work was performed in Shakespeare's Globe and in Southwark Cathedral in 2000 ^[14] and again in 2010 ^[15] Interest generated by The Southwark Mysteries inspired the Halloween of Cross Bones Halloween festival, celebrated every year since 1998 with a performance of the "Goose and Crow" poems followed by a procession to the graveyard shrine where candles are lit, songs sung and mementoes tied to the gates.^[11] The Southwark Mysteries was published in 1999.

The burial ground and Constable's work there has been featured in many books including 'The Spirits of Cross Bones Graveyard' by Sondra Hausner,^[16] 'Watling Street' by John Higgs ^[17] and Cross Bones by Paul Slade ^[18]

In 2004, London writer and poet Frank Molloy wrote the verse "Big Daves Gusset" 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, English singer-songwriter Frank Turner included a song about Cross Bones, called "The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead", on his album No Man's Land. Additionally, his podcast, Frank Turner's Tales From No Man's Land, includes an episode about the history of Cross Bones. Also in 2019 another English singer-songwriter, Reg Meuross, included the song "The Crossbones Graveyard" on his album "RAW".^[19]

An informal local group, Friends of Cross Bones, has campaigned for a permanent memorial garden.^[20] The network liaised with Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) during 2013–18 to create and maintain a community garden of remembrance dedicated to the 'outcast dead'. In 2019 the site owners Transport for London and the developer of the adjacent site granted BOST a 30-year lease to protect and maintain the graveyard. The current garden is a result of work of the Friends of Cross Bones over 25 years.^[21] The shrine at the graveyard gates in Redcross Way is permanently decorated by a changing array of messages, ribbons, flowers and other tokens; a short memorial ceremony is held at the gates at 7pm on the 23rd of each month. This Vigil, initiated on 23 June 2004 by John Constable in his John Crow persona, was conducted by him until 23 November 2019. Since then other Friends of Crossbones have held the ceremony.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

51°30′15″N 0°05′35″W / 51.5042°N 0.093°W / 51.5042; -0.093