St Pancras Old Church has been the site of Christian worship since the 4th century. The churchyard was used as a place of burial until 150 years ago, when tombs and graves where exhumed and moved to make way for railways by that Victorian lot. The tombstones were all plonked against the base of a near-by tree, which has since grown to surround said tombstones. Its known as The Hardy Tree and I decided to pop down and visit one weekend when I was in the area.
I loved this beautiful, old churchyard, situated out the back of St Pancras train station in one of those quiet spots that makes you feel like you have discovered some secret hidden in the otherwise busy city of London town. Its always slightly magical to stumble upon these places.
Particularly when you notice the Hardy Tree. Grey tombstones tucked in the embrace of a beautiful old tree, laden with floral offerings and fallen Autumn leaves which reminded me of the shrines my sister and I would make when we were young, pretending they were left by fairies.
I couldn't help but wonder if there was some wild group of teenagers lurking about, leaving these bundles of flowers and drinking cider when the churchyard is otherwise closed in the evenings.
You can read more on the churchyard and the history of the Hardy Tree on the official
St Pancras Old Church website.
These photographs were all taken on a rainy November afternoon with my Canon EOS5000 using Kodak Ektar 35mm film. You can see more cemetery tours here.
Fit graves innit.
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