🏛️LandmarkClosed · Opens 12:00 PMFree

Crossbones Graveyard & Garden of Remembrance

Name: Crossbones Graveyard & Garden of Remembrance
Rating: 4.6

4.6 ·

Step off the busy streets near Borough Market into Crossbones Graveyard, a small memorial garden with a poignant story. Read the ribbons and handwritten tributes covering its gates, and if timing allows, join one of the regular vigils honoring the forgotten poor and sex workers buried here.

✨

Reasons to go

Originally an unconsecrated burial ground for medieval sex workers licensed under the Bishop of Winchester, later used for the capital's poor, with an estimated 15,000 burials before closing in 1853.
The gates are covered in ribbons and handwritten tributes, maintained by local volunteers as an active memorial rather than a conventional historic site.
A monthly vigil is held on the 23rd, including services addressing remembrance and social justice.

📖

Full description

Crossbones Graveyard began as an unconsecrated burial ground for 'single women' — medieval sex workers licensed within the Bishop of Winchester's jurisdiction — and later the capital's poor, with an estimated 15,000 burials before its closure in 1853; today the site is tended as a memorial garden by local volunteers, its gates covered in ribbons, tributes and handwritten messages. Reviewers with a 4.6 rating describe it as deeply moving rather than a typical sightseeing stop, particularly during the regular vigils held there, including one noting a service around remembrance and social justice.

It's a quiet, reflective detour near Borough Market suited to visitors interested in London's overlooked social history rather than its grand monuments.

📍

Address

Union St, London SE1 1TA, UK · The Borough

Website

🕐

Hours

🎫

Booking

Walk-in

Duration

20 min

Best time

lunchtime

Intensity

Easy pace

💡

Good to know

Check for the regular monthly vigil, usually held on the 23rd, if you want to experience the site's community ritual firsthand
be respectful, as this remains an active memorial space tended by volunteers, not a conventional tourist sight
combine it with nearby Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral for a Bankside history walk.

💬

Reviews

I had 1 day in London and this was my main must see destination. It is a beautiful spot with so much love and rememberance. The statue tribute to transgender souls was very emotional. If you are near by when they are open, it is a must visit.

Michaela Helliwell

1/5

📍 Nearby spots