George Michael and Karl Marx’s graves ‘at risk’ from falling trees at London cemetery

Karl Marx’s grave is surrounded by ash trees in Highgate Cemetery, which are vulnerable to disease that could see them topple over (Credits: Belinda Jiao)

An £18,000,000 plan to redevelop Highgate Cemetery, the final resting places of Karl Marx and George Michael, has divided local residents.

The graves of Marx and Michael are among those currently ‘at risk’ of damage from falling ash trees, which have been decaying due to longstanding disease and drainage issues at the famous cemetery.

Ash dieback, a fungal disease that could eventually kill up to 80% of ash trees across the UK, has seen trees topple in the cemetery and forced many more to be cut down.

Marx’s grave is surrounded by ash trees, whereas George Michael’s burial spot lies on ground below ash trees higher up.

‘If a tree becomes infected and dies, there is only one way it will go and that is down,’ said Chief Executive of Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust Ian Dungavell.

‘Every one of those trees. is at risk of ash dieback. So George’s grave, like every other grave in the vicinity of an ash tree, is potentially at risk.’

Dungavell said that the transformation plans, which were submitted to Camden Council for permission on Monday, were needed to ‘preserve this fantastic heritage asset, and make sure that it is a benefit to the community.

Ash trees that have been cut down due to the presence of chronic fungal disease ash dieback (Credits: Belinda Jiao)

‘Karl Marx would be happy. Our charity is bringing people together to look after a community asset,’ he added.

‘The money is redistributed and looked after the whole cemetery for the public benefit.’

The charity’s own funds will cover a majority of the costs for the redevelopment, which will also include a new gardeners’ building and better educational provisions for visitors and school groups.

It is hoped that the remaining £7 million will be provided by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

‘We are not making any money out of this, it is going to make sure that this fantastic place is going to survive in a better state for the future,’ Dungavell added.

Metro showed visitors the image projections for the final outcome of the refurbishment project, and those paying their respects to Marx and others were divided about whether the work was worth the £18,000,000 price tag.

Barbara Walker, who had travelled up to visit from Richmond, said that the history and heritage of the cemetery should be preserved and not modernised.

‘Leave it as it is. History is history, it needs to be untouched. Do not tamper with what isn’t broken,’ she said.

Barbara Walker (Picture: Belinda Jiao)

She told Metro: ‘Put money into maintaining the graves and the grave sites, but what is not broken does not need to be fixed.

‘So support what is here, but it does not need modern day infrastructure.’

Janka, 33, is a fan of Marxism and paid the £10 entrance fee for the cemetery to see the grave of the ideology’s founder, was sceptical of the enormous cost of the project.

She said: ‘It is too much money. 

‘The international communists can pay to protect Karl Marx’s grave.

‘We are here to see the grave, the grave is a memorial thing.

‘If nature wants to fall onto it, what else are you going to do? I would not pay however many million pounds for that.’

Bean and Janka (Picture: Belinda Jiao)

Her friend, Bean, said he would rather take a picture of Karl Marx’s famous gravestone head smashed by a tree than see millions spent on the plans.

‘What is the point of spending £18,000,000? It looks nice already.

I do not see why they would spend so much money, no one is complaining. It is worth spending money on trees falling down, that helps to keep the history intact,’ he told Metro.

‘If Karl Marx’s grave is hit by a tree, I would want to take a photo of the tree crashed into his head.’

‘Why this graveyard? There are a lot of other graveyards, spend money on them too.’

National Lottery Heritage funding has gone towards other cemeteries in the UK, including Sheffield General Cemetery and £4.6m to West Norwood Cemetery in Norwood.

One family from Kendal in Cumbria, who had just toured the over 53,000 graves in the grounds, saw the need and benefits of refurbmishment.

(L to R) Sarah McPhillips, Michael McPhillips, Chris Nelson (Picture: Belinda Jiao)

Michael McPhillips told Metro: ‘If it is in the interest of the safety of people exploring the place, it could be worth it.

‘They are not benefiting financially. People paid a lot for a plot all those years ago, it would be good to maintain it for them.’

Sarah McPhillips agreed that Highgate Cemerery needed some work for the graves and for the dead.

She said: ‘There are lot of paths you cannot walk on here, it would be good if you could.

‘It is good to maintain the grounds, but not do anything fancy. I like that there are no big toilets or cafes here.’

Tourists from Belgian, Geert and his wife Kristiene, were astounded that the Trust was going to spend so much money on the plans.

Geert said: ‘You can spend the money on other things, like hospitals.

(L to R) Kristiene and Geert (Picture: Belinda Jiao)

‘So be it if graves are at risk. That money can be used better than just scrubbing a little bit up.

Holly Lodge estate backs onto Highgate Cemetery and while some residents approved of the plans, others felt left in the dark and were concerned about the disruption it would cause.

One neighbour to the cemetery, who did not want to be named, was worried about the potential for ‘noise, mess and disruption.’

‘I do not want any more work done around here. I knew absolutely nothing about the cemetery,’ she said.

The £18,000,000 refurbishment has divided residents and neighbours (Picture: Hopkins Architects)

‘I want to save one of the oldest and most important cemeteries, but do we need this?’

The manager of Holly Lodge estate, Antonia Pereira, praised the proposals and the Trust’s communication with those who live around in the area.

She has been to community meetings about it, and thinks that the disruption caused will be very minimal.

She said: ‘Neighbours always have to deal with disruption – it is part of living in London.

Another famous grave ‘at risk’ in Highgate Cemetery, that of Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
(Credits: Belinda Jiao)

‘You cannot just leave the cemetery as it is. You need to do work on it.

‘The trust did a really good job. They did outreach, they sent information out to everyone.’

Leighann Heron, who is the director of the project, stressed the Trust will consult extensively with the local community about disruption.

She said: ‘We want to work with our neighbours, not against them.

‘Improving the drainage and and the biodiversity and planning benefits everyone.’

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