All Hallow’s Eve by Lamplight – Tower Hamlets Cemetery

Hallowe’en is the perfect time to visit a cemetery; besides, I never did get to go on a proper tour of Tower Hamlets. So I was happy to book a place on the All Hallow’s Eve by Lamplight tour, run by the Cemetery Club.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery

We gathered at the entrance by the war memorial and collected some lanterns to take with us on our walk. And we needed them – there are no other lights in the cemetery, and even with the lanterns it was pretty dark. (I apologise for the poor quality of these photographs – I tried with and without flash and they were both pretty dire). Our guides escorted us round the cemetery, stopping at various points to tell us about various notable people buried here.

Towards the end of the tour we enjoyed some soul cakes of the kind eaten at Victorian Hallowe’en – they were baked to an original Victorian recipe and were yummy – spicy and delicious. We learned about nineteenth century Hallowe’en traditions and superstitions.

Finally, we were treated to an original Victorian music hall song, originally sung by Alexander Hurley, and based on a real event involving a strongman defeated by a daring rival.

Sadly I didn’t see any bats on the walk – perhaps because they were all frightened off by the fireworks. However it was a fascinating and atmospheric walk.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery