It was a cold and rainy day. I had cause to have to go into London Town and I had taken my Olympus XA2 along for the train ride. I had no intention of taking any specific photographs as the light was extremely poor - it was snowing when I left home and raining a soft freezing drizzle when I got to London Town. The XA2 was "just in case", and was loaded with a free 200 iso film from our local Klick mini-lab, which I was told, was Konica. The shots that follow were all exposed at a fairly slow shutter speed I'm sure, and the one of the sign was slow enough for me to hear a distinctive double click! There is a bit of camera movement evident.
The train terminated at Kings Cross - St Pancras station. A short walk from the station is St Pancras Gardens, the churchyard of The St Pancras Old Church. The site dates back to 315 AD as a place of prayer and meditation. A Saxon cross dating from 600 AD was found here, and the first missionary to Britain, St Augustine, was known to be very keen on St Pancras, who was the christian son of a Phrygian nobleman who was executed in 304 AD by decapitation on the Aurelian Way, (for refusing to worship the emperor Dioclesian by burning insence in his honour) and where a shrine was later erected to him. The present church was Rebuilt in the 1840's with a tower and Norman style windows, and is kept prisoner in it's own yard by railings. It is still multi-denominational and a sign at the door proclaims "'Our diversity is God's diversity. All members of our community are welcome."
The churchyard is guarded by an ornate set of black Victorian wrought-iron gates with the decoration highlighted in gold. Entering through the gates, one is confronted with a gloomy space rising to a small hill with a decaying monument in the centre approached by a set of stone steps. To the left are the red brick buildings of St Pancras Hospital which date from 1880, and to the right is the Old St Pancras Church. Many famous people were entoumbed in this space. The famous clown, Joseph Grimaldi was buried here in 1801, and in 1814 Percy Shelly, the poet, declared his love for Mary Wollstonecraft over the grave of her mother, who had written the Vindication Of The Rights Of Women in 1792. The daughter was the author of "Frankenstein". Percy lived with Mary in a road nearby called Church Row, which was demolished to accomodate the Midland Railway Station, now St Pancras station. Dickens' Jerry Cruncher, in A Tale Of Two Cities, robbed graves in Old St Pancras Churchyard.
At the back of the church there is an ash tree that has grown up in the centre of a ring of closely packed gravestones. This is the famous "Hardy Tree". All are encircled by an iron railing fence, on the gate of which is a notice that informs one that the gravestones were salvaged from the old St Pancras Churchyard cemetary when it was developed for the Midland Railway Line, and brought here, probably by Thomas Hardy. Folk-lore has it that Hardy stacked the headstones here with the intention of seeking permission to have them re-erected around the old church. Permission was never granted and an ash tree grew from the centre of the stack, which is there today.
- The Iron Filigree gates to the Old St Pancras Churchyard Gardens
- 0206_4873_22.jpg (93.92 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
- The steps leading up to the hill-top memorial
- 0206_4873_15.jpg (91.38 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
- The Old St Pancras Church
- 0206_4873_21.jpg (74.33 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
- The Hardy Tree stack
- 0206_4873_19.jpg (92.52 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
- The Hardy Tree stack
- 0206_4873_18.jpg (86.26 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
- Info signage
- Kings Cross St Pancras Station today
- CNV00024.jpg (76.15 KiB) Viewed 13032 times
LarryD
Joined: 25 Aug 2005
Posts: 464
Location: Clarksville Tennessee
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:59 pm
Too Cool.
"And from the past shall sprout a new life."
Gene M
Joined: 03 Aug 2005
Posts: 835
Location: Western Massachusetts
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:37 pm
Great post.
nelsonfoto
Site Admin
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 2697
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:38 pm
Very interesting work, Graham. So many places to see in the world, so little money, only so many years....
LarryD
Joined: 25 Aug 2005
Posts: 464
Location: Clarksville Tennessee
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:01 pm
C.E.
That is why we must band together and share not just with each other of our global internet community but with the world.
Yes we have our little arguments but at least even after a fight we have our friends we had the fight with. We may never live forever but at least we will know we saw the world through the eyes of another in a place we could never go.
Larry
nelsonfoto
Site Admin
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 2697
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:51 pm
Larry, when I die I will die with a smile for having had the Internet in my lifetime.
Graham Serretta
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 534
Location: Hertfordshire, U.K.
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:38 pm
Disraelli said "The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own."
My PC screen is a window on the world, thanks to friends here. I try to return the favour when I can.
_________________
Graham S
LarryD
Joined: 25 Aug 2005
Posts: 464
Location: Clarksville Tennessee
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:39 pm
C.E
Me also.
LarryD
Joined: 25 Aug 2005
Posts: 464
Location: Clarksville Tennessee
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:46 pm
To reply in the least words understandable.
"Art is freedom. Music is Art but it takes pictures in the mind to make music."
Larry
Julio1fer
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 455
Location: Montevideo, Uruguay
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:08 pm
A great post. Excellent images from that small Oly. I love the colour of those British rainy days, especially the greens. And of course, thanks for the history. I did not know that Hardy was trained as an architect, but looking back, many of his stories do have a strong visual angle.
Keep carrying on those just in case cameras!
lee_curtis
Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:15 pm Post subject: visual poetry Reply with quote
Others have said it more eloquently, but I thoroughly enjoyed the article - and photos. Thanks for sharing it.
sandeha
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 982
Location: Wales, UK
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:17 pm
Quote:
That is why we must band together and share not just with each other of our global internet community but with the world.
Well said.
Rockford
Joined: 09 Aug 2005
Posts: 162
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:59 pm
The Hardy Tree pic & story is so a part of us all---no matter where we are from, that it evokes something deep. Great shots.
Dennis Gallus
Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 46
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:31 am
Graham,
Your post is great, showing how to make the best use of poor light on an uninspiring day. But the eloquent words of some of the members here really impress me. I may curse pop-up ads and spam, but were it not for the internet I'd only be getting about 10 percent of the world views that I do daily.
Thanks for taking us on this photo tour, and for channeling our minds toward this appreciation.
Dennis
Graham Serretta
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 534
Location: Hertfordshire, U.K.
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:19 am
Your appreciation is appreciated, everyone. I sometimes worry that what I find interesting may not interest others. Thank you.
_________________
Graham S
Byuphoto
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 150
Location: NE La.
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:05 pm
Being of Anglo-Saxon descent I am always fascinated by the history, legends and the remains of times past on the British Isles. I had always hoped to visit but with the way things are going in my mind and throught the words and images I find on the 'net is my only avenue. Than you, Graham and others for sharing a glimpse of my ancestors. who knows some of my "Braun" relatives may have visited there also
_________________
Rick: Classic camera user/collector