West Cemetery

With its sinuous paths winding up a steep wooded hill and ivy-clad monuments, here is a secluded funerary landscape at its most evocative

The West Cemetery is home to the most impressive architectural features of Highgate Cemetery — the Chapel, Colonnade, Egyptian Avenue, Circle of Lebanon, Terrace Catacombs and the mausoleum of Julius Beer. Visit the West Cemetery by guided tour only. At the weekend, just turn up and take the next available tour. During the week, you'll have to book — see the ‘Tours’ section below.

Tours

Experience the captivating atmosphere of the West Cemetery by taking a tour with one of our knowledgeable volunteer guides

Events

No events are scheduled. Please subscribe to our mailing list if you would like to be notified of new events.

Group visits

A special tour is a great way of visiting Highgate Cemetery

British Sign Language tours

Join a BSL tour of the West Cemetery

Egyptian Avenue

One of the most stunning sights of the Cemetery, a bit of ancient Egypt has found its way to north London

Circle of Lebanon

An ancient cedar tree was here long before the cemetery, and a circle of tombs was built around it

Terrace Catacombs

From the terrace at the top of the cemetery there were views across London. But visitors were standing on the roof of the catacombs beneath...

Mausoleum of Julius Beer

The finest monument in the cemetery, evidence of the grief occasioned by the loss of a daughter

Highgate Cemetery East

Don't forget, a visit to Highgate Cemetery East is included with your West tour ticket. Karl Marx is on the east side

Tours

Admission to the West Cemetery is by guided tour only. The tour lasts around 70 minutes and is in English. The tour takes place even if it’s raining and the paths are steep and sometimes muddy so please do wear appropriate footwear. 

Photography is allowed with a hand-held camera for personal use only. No tripods. No filming. No food or drink. Strong winds or icy conditions may require us to cancel the tour for safety reasons. If we are forced to cancel you will receive a full refund.

Ticket prices
Adults £12; Children 8 to 17 £6. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate children under 8 on the tour.  The ticket price includes entrance to the East Cemetery on the day of your tour, or valid for a month. Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable. 

Note: Karl Marx is buried in Highgate Cemetery East; his grave is not visited on this tour. George Michael's grave is not visited on the tour. Tour content varies. If you are interested in a particular grave, please ask before buying your ticket.

Saturday and Sunday

You cannot book. Tours normally run every half hour from 10.30am - 3pm (4pm from March to October). Tickets are sold from 10.00am for all tours that day. Places are limited.

Monday to Friday 

Booking is essential. Tickets go on sale five weeks in advance. If the date you require is not listed, please check back later. We don't charge a booking fee. 

On most weekdays we run tours at 11.00am and again at 1.45pm. On bank holidays tours run all day. 

Group visits

We can organise tours of Highgate Cemetery West for private groups of up to 40 people. After the tour visitors may stay in the East Cemetery as long as they wish until the published closing time.

Group tours are not available at weekends. They are available all year round on weekdays, except Tuesdays, usually in the morning. It's best to make your initial enquiry by telephone so we can let you know if we can accommodate your request, and then follow this up with a booking form. Our group tours are very popular so you'll need to book as far in advance as possible.

We are also able to offer group tours in BSL. Please ask! 

The minimum cost is £120 and this covers up to 10 people with additional spaces charged at £12 a head. There is a non-refundable deposit of the minimum charge of £120 to secure the date which is payable within 2 weeks of the initial booking.

For further information please download our booking form.

British Sign Language tours

We are now able to offer guided tours of the West Cemetery in British Sign Language. These will be delivered by volunteer John Wilson, a native BSL-user, with spoken English interpretation provided by Malcolm Duffy. The tour lasts around 70 minutes.

Please see section above for further information about the West tour. Booking in advance is essential as we cannot guarantee spaces will be available on the day. Booking closes 24 hours before the tour.

Tours run on selected Saturdays at 2.15pm. The next BSL tours will be in 2019, dates to be confirmed. 

 

Egyptian Avenue

The main path suddenly opens out in front of the Egyptian gateway, flanked by a pair of massive obelisks. 

When the cemetery was founded, interest in ancient Egypt was still very strong, encouraged by Napoleon's campaigns. 

The association of the Egyptian style of architecture with the memorialization of the dead was a natural one. 

An avenue, lined with tombs, leads up to the Circle of Lebanon

Circle of Lebanon

At the heart of the Circle of Lebanon is a massive ancient cedar tree which long predates the Cemetery. It was part of the grounds of Ashurst House, sold in 1830 and demolished to provide a site for the present St Michael's Church. 

The cemetery designers kept the great cedar as a key feature in the landscape. It is now like a massive bonsai, its base surrounded by a circle of tombs.

On the inside face they are in the Egyptian style and belong to the 1830s; the tombs on the outer face are later, and mostly in the classical style. 

Terrace Catacombs

The Terrace Catacombs take the position of the terrace of the gardens of Ashurst House, demolished in 1830. From here there were splendid views of London, now mostly obscured by trees. 

These brick catacombs with a cast-iron traceried terrace balustrade were part of the original buildings of the cemetery in 1838-9. 

Inside, there is a brick-vaulted gallery more than 80 yards long, lit by oculi set in the terrace. It is lined with separate recesses, each large enough to take a single coffin end on, from floor to ceiling down both sides of length, 825 in all.

The catacombs could be used as a permanent resting place or temporarily whilst a plot was chosen. Fans of construction history get excited because the terrace is thought to be the earliest surviving asphalted building in England. 

Mausoleum of Julius Beer

Testament to a father's love for his lost daughter, the mausoleum is a splendid work of art.  Designed by leading architect John Oldrid Scott and based on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it dominates the top of the cemetery. 

Inside (not visited on the tour), Beer's daughter Ada is shown being lifted heavenwards by an angel in a very touching sculpture by H. H. Armstead. 

Have a look at our 360 degree tour!
Start the tour

 

Highgate Cemetery East

Your Highgate Cemetery West tour ticket also gives you free access to Highgate Cemetery East across the road.  So make sure you leave enough time to visit both.

If you don't have enough time on the day of your tour, your West tour ticket will give you one free entry to the East Cemetery within a month.

 

Some West Cemetery memorials…

Opening times

Open daily except 25 and 26 December. Different opening arrangements apply to the East and West.  

East Cemetery

The East Cemetery is where Karl Marx is buried. Visitors may roam freely on this side, but there is an entrance charge.

Daily:
10am to 5pm (March to October) 
10am to 4pm (November to February)
last admission 30 minutes before closing. 

We may close for short periods to facilitate funerals. In addition, for your safety, strong winds or icy weather may occasionally require us to close the cemetery to visitors. 

Admission: £4 adults, children under 18 and Members free. School groups £1 per child.

Find out more about the East Cemetery including our occasional tours.

West Cemetery

Admission to the West Cemetery is by guided tour only. For further information and to book, see the 'Tours' section at Visit > West Cemetery

Please remember to allow sufficient time to visit the East Cemetery if your tour is late in the day. 

How to get here

Our address is Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ

Download our handy map

By tube

ARCHWAY tube, High Barnet branch, Northern line. (Don’t go to Highgate tube – it's a much longer walk!). Take the Highgate Hill exit. Then either take a bus (210,143, 271) two stops to Waterlow Park or walk up Highgate Hill. It’s then a very pleasant five minute stroll through Waterlow Park to our gates. 

The tube system is often affected by engineering works and station closures. Please check your journey in advance at www.tfl.gov.uk.

By bus

C2 stops at Parliament Hill Fields. C11 stops at Brookfield Park. Buses 143, 210 and 271 stop at Waterlow Park on Highgate Hill.

By road

There is no off-street visitor parking. Parking restrictions are in place on the surrounding streets between 10am and 12 noon Monday to Friday. After those times and at weekends, on-street parking is free.

Note that there is no access to Swain’s Lane from the north.

Bicycle

There is a bicycle rack outside the West Cemetery gates.

Contact us

Email info@highgatecemetery.org

To find out whether someone is buried here, go to Searches

Telephone enquiries

Monday to Friday
General enquiries 020 8340 1834
Burials, memorials, grave ownership 020 8347 2471
Filming or photography requests 020 8347 2472
Group visits 020 8347 2475
Volunteering 020 8347 2474

You should know...

The cemetery can get muddy underfoot, so do wear sensible shoes.

Photography

Still photography of graves is allowed for personal use only. We don't allow the cemetery to be used as a backdrop for unrelated subjects such as fashion shoots. No video. You can use a tripod, but not on tours.

Animals

No animals are permitted with the exception of assistance dogs.

Accessibility

Visitors to the West cemetery should be aware that the paths are steep, and the tour route also includes two flights of stairs. The East cemetery is on a gentler slope with no steps and predominantly tarmac paths and is more easily wheelchair accessible. A small amount of disabled parking is available outside the cemetery’s entrance on Swain’s Lane. There is a disabled toilet in the West Cemetery. For further information, please contact the office in advance of your visit. 

More rules

You can download a full set of our rules here. 

© 2018 Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust. Registered Charity No. 1058392. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No. 3157806. Registered office Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ

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