St John at Hackney Churchyard 2010

Churchyards to kids are always scary so my earliest memories of this particular cemetery are based on this fear. At night its gets pretty dark around there and although Hackney Police Station is located on the church perimeter at the end of a long gravestone causeway you wouldn't walk through there unless necessary.  In the old days anyone that didnt fancy facing robbers, pedophiles, mental cases or rapists avoided the area at all costs. Personally i remember at the age of fourteen myself and two friends of the same age were running through there at night as a dare. When we were chased by a middle aged man with a dog who actually caught up with us and we had to climb up onto a wall otherwise the dog would've bitten us. He just ranted and raged at us for ten minutes then allowed us to climb down from the wall and run for our lives. We just assumed he was nuts like everyone else in that place. Much has changed here and now its completely people friendly both day and night.


So now as i wonder around this place i immediately notice the church is built on a ley line which I'm sure encompasses the entire area. Some of the gravestones themselves are from the 1700s and their engravings have worn out completely. Many are just stacked up or thrown together against a wall (i'll post later). I have so many shots of the stones that i'll post separately under St John at Hackney Churchyard. Again any feedback on symbol origins or even the people buried is appreciated.

 MORE TO COME...