please empty your brain below
Right, must go there.

Jag | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 11:14 a.m. | #

Well, the comment "why are you telling them this? they don't care, they'll never visit" may be true but never-the-less thanks for providing another interesting perspective of London

Netball Coach | 08.06.08 - 11:18 a.m. | #

and besides, surely the nature reserve is there for the nature ... the fewer people the better.

town mouse | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 1:14 p.m. | #

Err ... possibly dumb question but it came to mind. You mention foxes and other animals frequenting this reserve. Are their any deer parks still left within London? I only mention it because in Boston (MA-USA)(western borders) we are seeing a return of large hooved creatures. I raced a buck with my car last spring in the Brookline Hills next to the Arboretum.

dg writes: scroll down to May 29th for the answer.

Beantown Bwana | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 3:44 p.m. | #

Thanks DG, that's brought on a big hit of nostalgia for me. I'd forgotten all about this place...

You're right about it being well hidden. I used to visit somewhat irregularly until a few years ago - it's about 5 minutes walk from where my Granddad used to live. I got so used to having the place to myself that the one time I met someone there it really made me jump.

It used to be buzzing with insects and assorted small birds. I never saw any owls, foxes or kestrels though.

Three-Legged-Cat | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 3:56 p.m. | #

Am I the only one really irritated with the tone of this? I know you're taking the piss and trying to be funny [in the little grey brackets], but for me, this time, it really hasn't worked. I would have been interested in what you had to say, but I was put off by some snide smart-alec butting in after each sentence.

Anonymous | 08.06.08 - 4:59 p.m. | #

Well I found it interesting - and didn't mind the self-deprecatory inserts. I sometimes cycle down the Greenway and either come back through docklands or head South of the river via the Woolwich tunnel. Next time I'll stop off and check out St Mary's and the nature reserve.

Mick H | 08.06.08 - 5:05 p.m. | #

I thought the little comments were funny too...but I do think the sun must have got to you DG...or is something still the matta wiv you? (Not getting enough protein in your diet? You can eat cheese DG but not bread with it).

Bina | 08.06.08 - 5:20 p.m. | #

Love it, great post DG.
Cxx

Christian | 08.06.08 - 5:30 p.m. | #

Another good DG post on a hidden bit of London I would never have heard of else. Well done bloke!

Marc | 08.06.08 - 7:36 p.m. | #

[I tend not to react to anonymous comments]

diamond geezer | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 8:08 p.m. | #

I haven't lived in East london for 30 years, but even when I was a child I remember this as my favourite place. I first learned of it from the Passmore Edwards Museum. In recent years I discovered it was the burial place of my favourite antiquary, William Stukeley, in 1765. Unfortunately he was buried in an unmarked grave, although the table tombs outside the church entrance are contemporary. I also remember being told that it is the biggest churchyard in London and the oldest church, although I'm not sure if that was local rumour!

Vulpine | Homepage | 08.06.08 - 8:44 p.m. | #

Almost 5 years ago,DG,you said that Tower Hamlets cemetery,also an overgrown nature reserve, was within 15 mins of your house. Have you visited it yet? (Sadly I haven't so far)

dg writes: Yes, I've visited several times, I just haven't told you about it.

felix | 08.06.08 - 9:03 p.m. | #

I think it's fascinating what you can think about when you're in a quiet, serene place such as a churchyard. I also like the fact that such places exist in (as well as around) London. Considering that the capital is a place people think of as being too busy and rushed, I always think it's amazing that London has seemingly endless green spaces where one can relax.

As always, it's always good to hear your interpretation of things, DG!

Andrewh | 09.06.08 - 12:59 a.m. | #

I don't know about the biggest churchyard but it's certainly one of the coldest churches I've ever been in. I'm pretty sure that every schoolchild within a 10 mile radius has done the school trip and completed/screwed up/defaced the obligatory fact sheet. I seem to remember (fancy that, that education wasn't wasted) being told it was the oldest church in London. I also remember my grandfather telling me that one of his brothers was buried there in an unmarked grave.

SSS | Homepage | 09.06.08 - 1:47 a.m. | #

Further to my comment above: handy little summary of what I was getting at in today's Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk
ew...ing-
841419.html

Bina | 09.06.08 - 10:52 a.m. | #

I think DG was trying to intimate the fact that everyone goes to big festivals and major tourist attractions but ignores places like this (for no good reason - they're wonderful). I come across unloved, forgotten gems all the time. I'm secretly glad that people ignore them because if they were like Kew was this Saturday (from Annie Mole's blog) I'd never leave the house - I can't stand big crowds...

The Londoneer | Homepage | 09.06.08 - 1:23 p.m. | #

It might not be a great place. But it's a great post.

walter | 11.06.08 - 2:12 p.m. | #

I was very pleased to find information about this site as I have been intending to pay a visit to my old home town and the church where my brother and I were baptised. We lived very close by and I still recall the morning we came up from the shelter to find yellow sculls and bones scattered over the road from the near miss during the blitz.
My records show that my grandmother and uncle ( both surnamed Woolgar - neither of whom I can recall ever meeting) are buried in this churchyard along with two babes who were my older sister and brother.
I gather the nature reserve office includes a list of all memorials that could be identified before flora and fauna took over and hopefully that will aid me in a search for their location. I am very pleased their last resting place is now protected and provides home and shelter for less spiteful of God's creatures.

Victor Leversha | 16.05.11 - 5:10 p.m. | #











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