Jared Phanco

The Magnificent Seven 

In his 1981 book London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer architectural historian Hugh Meller dubbed London’s famous private Victorian cemeteries the ‘Magnificent Seven’, drawing inspiration from the 60’s Western classic.

The Magnificent Seven is comprised of:

Tower Hamlets - Abney Park – Highgate - Kensal Green - West Norwood - Brompton – Nunhead

My main aim with this project was to exhibit the ways in which we memorialise the departed and how these methods of memorialisation have evolved over time. This meant my focus was placed on both the gothic austere styles found in the earlier decades of the cemeteries founding up to current burials which often see people opting for more customised headstones, breaking the conventions of what we expect of a typical gravesite.