"‘An idealist and a dreamer, he died of loneliness and a broken heart, searching for a shrine he never found."
The Weirdest Epitaph in America: Sterling Hallard Bright Drake
Tag: Death
Going Out in Style! Ghana’s Fantasy Coffins
Fantasy, figurative or proverbial coffins (abebuu adekai), are unusual, transient memorials, being elaborate representations of the deceased’s interests, dreams and achievements.
“I did not give them willingly”: The Friesthorpe Window
A small rural church in Friesthorpe, Lincolnshire holds one of the most poignant memorials to the sacrifices of war in the form of a beautiful stained glass window.
Ye Olde Eco-Burial: The Trapdoor Coffin
In the 16th and 17th centuries, plenty of rural parishes in Scotland utilised a communal coffin of sorts called a ‘common mortkist’, ‘bier’ or ‘parish coffin’.
The Tiny Grave of Tom Thumb
According to local legend, the Tom Thumb of Tattershall measured just over 18 inches tall and had reached the grand old age of 101 upon his death in 1620.
Nanette Stocker, the Smallest Woman in the Kingdom
Nanette (incorrectly recorded as ‘Nanetta’ on her stone) is a forgotten music hall star and little person who died with a huge following.
Two Towers and an Eccentric Priest: Booton St Michael
Lying in such an isolated place, Booton St Michael has come to be known as ‘the cathedral of the fields’.
Death Cheese: A Short History
In life, three things are for certain: Birth, Death and Cheese. The greatest of these is cheese.
Birdcage Walk: Remnants of a Bombed Churchyard
While the church is long gone, its churchyard remains, with tombs and monuments hidden behind metal railings and overgrown bushes. Although the site seems closed to visitors today, access is still possible...
Bornstedt Cemetery, Potsdam
‘What dies in Sanssouci will be buried in Bornstedt.’
Burials & Beyond 