London's most famous cemetery is hoping to generate money it needs to remain a working graveyard
by reclaiming long-abandoned graves so they can be sold again for fresh burials
(Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive, Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust)
"So, our grave renewal project is essential so that Highgate Cemetery can continue as a working cemetery. It's the biggest step that the cemetery has ever taken towards achieving a sustainable way forward. Without it, the real danger is it would have just become a spooky old graveyard of limited interest to anyone."
Grave renewal is a common practice across Europe
It involves lifting and reinterring earlier remains deeper in the ground to accommodate a second burial
(Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive, Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust)
"The grave renewal project involves looking for graves where the last burial has been more than 75 years ago, where there's a potential to use the graves for a new burial// We're looking mainly for graves that don't have a memorial on them, or where the memorial is extensively decayed. So, a package of graves is identified, then it's advertised widely what the intentions are and if nobody objects after six months, then we can look at renewing those graves."
