T
Tania Admin
London
In memory of the Winchester Goose
In 2010, a plaque was erected on the fence of the Crossbones Cemetery in South London, England in honor of unnamed prostitutes - "Winchester geese", buried here in the Middle Ages.
The inscription on the board: - “Crossbones Cemetery (crossbones).
In the Middle Ages, it was an unconsecrated cemetery for prostitutes or "Winchester geese". By the 18th century, it had become a beggar's burial site, which closed in 1853. Here local residents built a memorial shrine.
Rest in peace, dead outcasts. "
Medieval London was primly decent, God-fearing and polite. Therefore, any mention of women of easy virtue shocked the inhabitants. They were called "lonely ladies", and after her death no lady of easy virtue could count on being buried in an ordinary city cemetery. For even after leaving the other world, she had no right to be in the society of respectable citizens.
History of appearance.
The place for the burial of lonely ladies was allocated in the late Middle Ages. The first mention of it dates back to 1603.
Prostitutes were not allowed to participate in any religious rituals, unless they repented of their own sins. The continuation of prostitution before leaving the other world led to the fact that they were called "Winchester geese" and after death they were deprived of the right to a proper burial according to Christian customs. It was for the "Winchester geese" that a plot was provided, located far from the parish church, so as not to offend the feelings of decent people.
In those days, women of easy virtue extremely rarely lived to old age. They could die at any moment, both from the hands of a customer dissatisfied with the service, and from the hands of a maniac like Jack the Ripper. More than 15 thousand single ladies found their last refuge at the Crossbones Cemetery, and in 1769 beggars began to be buried here.
In 1853, the cemetery was closed for burials and acquired the status of a landmark.
In the 1990s, excavations were carried out on it.
It turned out that many burials are real mass graves, where the bodies are simply stacked on top of each other.
Studies have shown that a large number of those buried in the cemetery died as a result of various diseases, including smallpox, tuberculosis, Paget's disease, arthrosis and vitamin D deficiency. Adult graves belonged mainly to women over 36 years old.
The sign at the entrance to the cemetery reads: "This is a place of healing, where the feminine principle is revered and glorified in all its incarnations: in a walking woman and a virgin, mother and mistress, a girl and an old woman, a creator and destroyer."
Since 1998, Halloween has been celebrated here every year, during which a church service takes place, and all participants receive ribbons with the names, date of death and profession of the people who are buried in the cemetery. Activists are looking for information about them in the London Archives.
The cemetery has its own website, and Cross Bones' support groups are on social media, and, among other things, there are notifications about events. Locals and many tourists consider this place unique; they enjoy spending time here, taking pictures and just relaxing. Some artists choose to use the cemetery as an original art space, displaying their drawings and creating installations.
People who visit the plaque and the iron fence to which it is attached leave mementos such as flowers, gloves, fans, feathers, ribbons, talismans, poems, paintings, oranges, and stockings. According to local historian Patricia Dark, the Crossbones shrine is a place where people go to celebrate "dead outcasts" - "people that no one remembers."
Source: Марина Авраменко
In memory of the Winchester Goose
In 2010, a plaque was erected on the fence of the Crossbones Cemetery in South London, England in honor of unnamed prostitutes - "Winchester geese", buried here in the Middle Ages.
The inscription on the board: - “Crossbones Cemetery (crossbones).
In the Middle Ages, it was an unconsecrated cemetery for prostitutes or "Winchester geese". By the 18th century, it had become a beggar's burial site, which closed in 1853. Here local residents built a memorial shrine.
Rest in peace, dead outcasts. "
Medieval London was primly decent, God-fearing and polite. Therefore, any mention of women of easy virtue shocked the inhabitants. They were called "lonely ladies", and after her death no lady of easy virtue could count on being buried in an ordinary city cemetery. For even after leaving the other world, she had no right to be in the society of respectable citizens.
History of appearance.
The place for the burial of lonely ladies was allocated in the late Middle Ages. The first mention of it dates back to 1603.
Prostitutes were not allowed to participate in any religious rituals, unless they repented of their own sins. The continuation of prostitution before leaving the other world led to the fact that they were called "Winchester geese" and after death they were deprived of the right to a proper burial according to Christian customs. It was for the "Winchester geese" that a plot was provided, located far from the parish church, so as not to offend the feelings of decent people.
In those days, women of easy virtue extremely rarely lived to old age. They could die at any moment, both from the hands of a customer dissatisfied with the service, and from the hands of a maniac like Jack the Ripper. More than 15 thousand single ladies found their last refuge at the Crossbones Cemetery, and in 1769 beggars began to be buried here.
In 1853, the cemetery was closed for burials and acquired the status of a landmark.
In the 1990s, excavations were carried out on it.
It turned out that many burials are real mass graves, where the bodies are simply stacked on top of each other.
Studies have shown that a large number of those buried in the cemetery died as a result of various diseases, including smallpox, tuberculosis, Paget's disease, arthrosis and vitamin D deficiency. Adult graves belonged mainly to women over 36 years old.
The sign at the entrance to the cemetery reads: "This is a place of healing, where the feminine principle is revered and glorified in all its incarnations: in a walking woman and a virgin, mother and mistress, a girl and an old woman, a creator and destroyer."
Since 1998, Halloween has been celebrated here every year, during which a church service takes place, and all participants receive ribbons with the names, date of death and profession of the people who are buried in the cemetery. Activists are looking for information about them in the London Archives.
The cemetery has its own website, and Cross Bones' support groups are on social media, and, among other things, there are notifications about events. Locals and many tourists consider this place unique; they enjoy spending time here, taking pictures and just relaxing. Some artists choose to use the cemetery as an original art space, displaying their drawings and creating installations.
People who visit the plaque and the iron fence to which it is attached leave mementos such as flowers, gloves, fans, feathers, ribbons, talismans, poems, paintings, oranges, and stockings. According to local historian Patricia Dark, the Crossbones shrine is a place where people go to celebrate "dead outcasts" - "people that no one remembers."
Source: Марина Авраменко