Two Gibsons and the Molyneuxs

This wonderful monument stands on the grave of Mary Eleanor Gibson (1854-72).

Not much is known about Mary Eleanor Gibson. She passed away at the tender age of 18 years at the Great Western Hotel (now Hilton London Paddington Hotel) . It is assumed that she might have had come to London for medical consultation. 

Great Western Hotel 

The majestic Ducrow Mausoleum

Once we had stepped down the stairs of the Anglican Chapel we found ourselves surrounded by impressive tombs and mausolea. Now we were in the most prestigious area, the Centre Avenue, the spot to be buried. (if you could afford it, that is). And suddenly I remembered that I had seen a very remarkable mausoleum online, in videos, on photos. I said to my friend "there is this truly amazing mausoleum and I feel it must be here! It is here!" It was a bit odd that I suddenly remembered it and that I felt so strongly that we must be really close to it. I know the sceptics will say that it is not that odd after all because where to erect such a grandiose monument if not at the Centre Avenue. Nonetheless it was a strange moment. I am not saying I felt the presence of it but still it felt a little bit as if something did decidedly draw me to it. ("It is here! I know it!" ~ my friend can vouch for this occurrence) And lo and behold ~ there it was.

   

Can you see the orb? A glass eye! A Victorian HAL 9000! A crystal ball! We were wondering if it was this thing sending out vibes which I had received. (Before someone starts to doubt our sanity ~ we were not entirely serious about this) But why not allowing the imagination to run free when one sees such a delicate, lovely object like this?

(not my photo)

So we stood there admiring the Mausoleum of Andrew Ducrow. Something "The Builder", a journal of architecture published in the UK in the 19th and 20th centuries, called a

"ponderous coxcombry."

London, day 1, July 12th, 2017, Kensal Green Cemetery, part 1

The night had been short but true to the motto "I can sleep when I am dead" I was up super early. Breakfast and then off to the ~ dead. I am still on my mission to visit all seven of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" in London. So far I had been to:

1. Abney Park Cemetery
2. Highgate Cemetery
3. West Norwood Cemetery
4. Brompton Cemetery

For this stay in London, I had planned to visit two more: Kensal Green Cemetery and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, incidentally the first and the last of the seven to open. And the best part about it? I would visit both cemeteries with my friend! I think I have mentioned this before but it is still valid: I've always loved to visit London but now that I have a very dear friend there, I enjoy coming back even more. Meeting point was Kensal Green tube station. As I was staying in the same hotel as last time, very close to Baker Street Station, I only had to hop on the Bakerloo Line and I was there in no time.

London! Again !

So I travelled to my favourite city again ~ London. This time the journey there was pretty nerve-wracking, to be honest. All started with the flight being 50 minutes late. That made me very nervous because it is a late flight anyway. And the last Stansted Express train goes at 0.30. Well but silly me thought I might just catch the midnight train. It turned out that this idea was totally delusional. Arrival was supposed to be at 11.05 p.m. but instead we arrived at 11.40 p.m. oooookay, there is still the 0.30 train ~ totally no worries. Or? The shock came at the passport control where it turned out that approx. half the planet's population assembled there at close to midnight. Kid ... you ... NOT!!! And this is supposed to be the least busy airport of the three ~ Heathrow, Gatwick .. Stansted?!?! I could not believe it when i saw the queues! Progress was swift, admittedly, but it still took quite a lot of time. I began to see my hopes dashed. My nerves were raw. Behind me was a woman just as stressed out as myself, showing me her Stansted Express Tix. I told her I fully understand, I also need to catch the last train. She asked me if it is far to the trains and I tried to calm her down telling her that no, it is an easy and quick access to the platforms, I hope she made it. Once through, I made a sprint to the luggage conveyor, grabbed my suitcase and made a dash for the train platform. I arrived there at 0.28 and so caught the last train. That was really close and my nerves were frazzled.

London, day 4, July 25th ~ Dennis Severs' House

My daily life and especially my job keeps me very busy which really slows down my blogging "project" about my wonderful London trip. A full time job can be so disruptive, haha.

Day 4 in London brought more excitement for me. First and foremost a reunion with a dear friend. Someone I met online via a mutual friend and then had the pleasure to meet in person for the first time three years ago.
(side note: I always have a longing for London but ever since I have friends there this longing now also has a very personal touch. They make going there even more worthwhile!)
Our first and so far only personal meeting had been so wonderful for me and i remember that day with great fondness. So when i was planning my trip to London, i hoped i could meet up with my friend again. Thankfully she made it possible.

London, day 3, July 24th ~ Hogarth's House

I left Chiswick House and Gardens behind and made my way back to the underground station. As i had planned earlier that day, i paid a visit to Hogarth's House which lies at Hogarth lane. 

The house was built between 1713 and 1717 and was bought by the Hogarth's in 1749. They used it as a country refuge. Today it is really hard to imagine it as a rural area as now the A4 runs by with 3 lanes on each side. But in the 18th century it still was a village and the house was built in the corner of an orchard. Thankfully even today there is still a little garden adjacent to the house. 

London, day 3, July 24th ~ Chiswick House And Gardens

Now that day #2 had been such a success and such a fantastic day I was ready for my 3rd day in London. There was a meeting with a friend planned for 4 p.m.
Other than that i had no plans yet.
I had breakfast and then did some planning in my hotel room. I was weighing up this and that when suddenly i remembered i had wanted to go to Chiswick Gardens if possible. Yes! The decision was made and i checked how to get there. Jubilee Line to Green Park and from there Piccadilly Line. It took me quite some time to figure out why the TFL journey planner insisted i would have to change for District Line at Hammersmith when the tube map showed that the Piccadilly Line serves Turnham Green? Yeah .. but not on Sundays at that time. ahhh! Okay, planning done, off i went. But as i like doing things my way, i changed lines at Barons Court, hehe. I don't know why i did that, i think Barons Court sounded nice. And it turned out the station had lovely clocks.

From Turnham Green station i walked to my destination. It is not the most beautiful walk once you have come to the Hogarth roundabout and turn into Hogarth Lane which is part of the A4 and it is a super busy and super noisy street with a lot of traffic and pollution, actually. But i knew it was all worthwhile. I came by Hogarth's House which i had not heard of before. The sign told me it will be open later that day and i decided to visit it on my way back.