THE SOUTH BANK/BREWERY/ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS ~ LION

I first saw this lion in Bowie’s “Absolute Beginners” video.

And when I came to London for the very first time and we arrived at Westminster Bridge everyone hopped off the bus going “Oh!! Big Ben!!!”. Not me. I was like “ah!!! The ‘Absolute Beginners’ lion!!!” (yeah, priorities, eh 😉 )

THE SOYER/SIMONAU MONUMENT, PART 2

Now unto the actual monument itself. According to Ruth Cowen's book "Relish" about Alexis Soyer, he had bought a plot at Kensal Green for £ 73. And Alexis started to sketch his ideas for a monument. In the book Memoirs of Soyer the authors describe it (somewhat empurpled) like this:

 

Here is another contemporary report about the tomb:

 

This monument is a puzzling one and it has sent me deep into the internet to find clues and answers but this research has brought up more questions and confusion. I struggle with:

• a sculptor with a surname in 2 different variations
• a statue which may be Faith or Hope
• an alleged father-in-law who is actually a stepfather but the father-in-law of another character in this story
• a distant relative buried there as well but with missing information on the monument
• a link which doesn't lead to the promised (and much coveted!!!) details (at least it didn't link to a dubious website either. It was "just" a wrong link but how very frustrating, really!!!)

And the most baffling one!!!!

• the information given on the monument about the person for whom it was erected in the first place

I spent hour upon hour to sift through many websites and blogs to collect information. Sadly most bloggers don't lay their cards open where they found their info. This is a problem for me. Why? Because anyone can write anything and present it as fact. Without naming a source or reference, it simply can be the case of one blogger just copying content from another. I am sceptical about this. Finally I did find an original source. Now, I am not saying this is gospel nor that this source is entirely reliable and the ultimate truth. What I am saying though ~ at least it is an original source. It is fun to collect all the bits and pieces but it can also be frustrating. Cause the internet does have its limits. I was looking for a specific edition of the London Illustrated News and I failed. Several numbers of that old newspaper I did find but not the one I needed :( To access certain online resources, you either need to be a member of a specific library (which I am not) or you need to register somewhere and get a paid membership (which I won't, not for blog research). When my last weekend came to a close, I had downloaded pdf files, saved pictures, wrote down URLs, pieced together screenshots. Figuratively speaking I had just opened the box of the jigsaw puzzle, had scattered about the pieces and tried to find the 4 corner pieces to make a start. I guess these 4 corner pieces could be the 4 people buried there, how is that for a start?

1. Elizabeth Emma Soyer, née Jones (1813–1842)
2. Alexis Bénoit Soyer (4 February 1810 – 5 August 1858)
3. Francois Simonau (26 May 1783 - 26 November, 1859)
4. Lady Elise Isabelle Watts, née Simonau (10 August 1863 - ??? , maybe 1930)

To Her

Sadly I am in a hurry at the moment and cannot write a full blog entry. But I have seen on Twitter and Facebook that today marks the day on which, in 1858, Alexis Benoit Soyer has died. He was a celebrity chef and became the most celebrated cook in Victorian England. More about him later when I have more time.
He married Elizabeth Emma Jones in 1837 (more about her later as well). Sadly she died at only 29 bearing their first child. This monument was erected for her by her grieving husband.

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.

Which Henry Mausoleum came first?

Yesterday i spent almost all my afternoon to try and find out which of the 2 similar mausolea came first ~ the one for the Doulton family or the one for the Tate family. I had already written down all my findings and had not come up with a conclusive answer when i came about this. In my photo of the Doulton monument you can clearly see an information sheet attached to the door.

Now some clever person (obviously not me!) had taken a close-up of that information sheet and this is what it says:

source: Victorian Web Org

And then i found this fantastic website with very valuable additional information ~ highly recommended for further reading. It has a very good search function where you can search for different things like certain mausolea or cemeteries, super convenient! 

The Mausolea & Monument Trust

So i guess the case is closed. The Tate tomb came first and the Doulton mausoleum was designed by the same architects as the Tate one. (And they certainly have been specifically designed to puzzle me!) Now i have back my peace of mind and moreover i have much more reading material because i also found the archive of the newsletter of The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery. I am ready for autumn where i can indulge in reading without feeling bad because i should be outside. ;) 

London, day 2, July 23rd 2016 ~ West Norwood Cemetery! pt. 2

Part 2 

We wandered around that beautiful place and while looking at the stunning and beautiful monuments and tombs we were in deep and wonderful conversation about many things. Sometimes having to force our way through nettles and brambles and ivy tendrils. And still some areas remained impassable. 

Especially the brambles pulled and teared on us so it somehow felt as if the place signalled 

"stay, stay here, we will not let you leave again"

 (my overboarding Gothic imagination could almost hear these words whispered to me) 

After spending some considerable time there, exploring the grounds and revel in the overwhelming beauty of the graveyard, we decided we are still in the realm of the living and it was time to take care of our empty stomachs. 

London, day 2, July 23rd 2016 ~ West Norwood Cemetery!

Part One 

On my 2nd day in London i was really in for a treat! For this adventure i had to take a train at 12.06 from Victoria Station. Which gave me a bit of time after breakfast.
I decided to visit the Wallace Collection which was in the neighbourhood of my hotel and it was very convenient for me to drop by for a short visit. As admission is free it didn't really matter that i could only stay for about an hour. As my time was rather limited i didn't look at the paintings that closely but decided to enjoy the precious furniture and clocks, and the decorative art objects. That one hour passed by ever so quickly and it was time to head for Victoria Station. I was so excited because i would

1. meet with someone for the first time in real life and we would 
2. explore the West Norwood Cemetery together

The Secret Garden

So i had arrived at Regent's Park by bus and i entered the park and looked at a map at the entrance with the usual "you are here"

According to the map Baker Street Station was a 2 minutes walk away. But this is only the case when you take the correct way. Which I, of course, did not. Here you can see where Baker St underground station is and also Chiltern Street where my hotel was. And you can see the way I took




Now all that wouldn't have been a problem but by then I really had all too human needs (hunger, thirst, in need of a loo!!)
The 2 minutes walk to Chiltern Street turned into a 15 minutes walk to my discovery of St. John's Lodge Gardens. There was this open gate and a sign explained this garden is supposed for the enjoyment of small groups of people and you should under no circumstances leave behind any rubbish (the green sign on the gate at the photo below). I decided i am a small group of one and entered.

The Gate

A pergola leads inside

At the end of the pergola, take a turn left at this vase

Once you are through this hedge-bordered lane you are in the Secret Garden

London, day 1, July 22nd 2016

After a pretty short night (the hotel only serves breakfast till 9 a.m.!) I was ready to start my first day. Last year i wanted to visit Temple Church but alas

So this year i was determined! I took the tube to Embankment and walked from there. For the first time ever i discovered the Victoria Embankment Gardens. When i arrived at Temple Church underground station i took the wrong turn, or rather i shouldn't have taken any turn yet and i got lost for the first time (not the last time though) I was wandering around streets, ending up at Strand and St. Clement Danes. somewhat baffled. I am so totally useless with maps, really. (yes, i get lost with a map, for me that is nothing unusual) 

Back to London

I travelled again to one of my most favourite cities and this time i went there on my own, for the first time, C. alone in London. As usual i was super nervous beforehand and planned it with military precision.
Booking the flight and the hotel was the easiest part. As i was taking the same late flight as last year i wanted to make sure again to already have the tickets for the Stansted Express train to not lose time at the ticket machine. I wanted to order them from directly from their website and then came across my first obstacle. When i wanted to pay them with my credit card there was some pop up window which informed me about 3 D Secure. It turned out to be a payment system which is supposed to add extra security in money transactions. Well, it was so damn secure that i personally couldn't buy the tickets with my credit card. I did get in touch with my bank and the guy explained a lot of things to me of which i only understood very little

London, Aug 1st 2015

On this day i embarked on my London adventure. And an adventure it was! It was the 8th time that i visited my most favourite city in the world. True to the motto:

But was it also a good idea to go there with ... my boss?? And that was the element of uncertainty in an otherwise really fantastic idea. Now, i know my boss for a very long time, next year we have our "silver anniversary" which means we have been working together for 25 years. We are on pretty informal terms as well. We have been through a lot of things together. So the idea is not as bizarre as it may sound. Nonetheless i was pretty nervous about it. But it turned out much better than i could have ever hoped! And with hindsight it was one of my most fantastic London trips so far. 

Crimson Peak

Compared to some of my friends it is actually pretty rare that i watch a movie. i often lack the patience to sit through a whole movie and so i really choose very carefully which movie i deem "worthy" to go and see in the cinema. Last year the 2 movies i really wanted to see in the cinema were "Only Lovers Left Alive" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" which both fully met my expectations. This year i was excited about "The Imitation Game" but was pretty disappointed by it. (To make it clear ~ i am talking feature films here and i don't take into account documentary-style movies like "20.000 Days on Earth", "I Am Divine" or "B-Movie"!) And then it was Crimson Peak i really wanted to see on the big screen. I really waited for this one! 

When it finally opened Mid October it turned out a pain in the ass to actually get a chance to see it in the cinema. No joke! One cinema only showed it at ridiculously late hours and only on very selected dates. Another cinema is not to reach without a car. The third cinema actually is a drive-in cinema, so again no option without a car. I was seriously frustrated by this. I wanted to go with a friend and a colleague. It was simply not possible. I was getting pretty nervous about it because i was afraid it will be out of the cinema very quickly. Seriously, for once i wanna see a movie in the cinema and then this. 

My colleague and me grabbed the chance today. My friend wasn't up to come along on an early Sunday evening. I think it might have been my only chance to see it and so i went with my colleague. And i didn't regret it for one moment!

The movie is visually beyond stunning and as a lover of all things Goth and Victorian i was utterly delighted by the elaborate and lavish settings and costumes. It is a feast for the eyes and i was entranced by the scenery and atmosphere. Nothing seemed cheap or artificial. It was all so very beautiful. 

Happy Halloween