Monuments at Kensal Green

The General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, boasts one of the finest collection of funerary monuments in the world, with 153 of them included on the National Heritage List for England at Grade II* or Grade II. A great many more also mark the graves of notable personalities, or appeal as sculpture in their own right. The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery are regularly involved in the restoration and conservation of the monuments.

IHS

(Christogram, a monogram or abbreviation for the name of Jesus, in Greek characters) and grapes, both ancient Christian symbols.

Clasped Hands

Symbol of fidelity, loyalty and affection unto death and beyond;this and many other symbols commonly found on funeral monuments also has strong Masonic associations.

Bird

A symbol of the soul flying free of the body; the dove, superficially, also represents both peace and the Holy Spirit.

Downturned torches or flambeaux

Symbol of life being extinguished.

Veiled Urn

An allusion to the veneration of cremated remains in ancient Rome.

Broken Column

Symbol of a life cut short, or the loss of the head of the family.

Beehive

Symbol variously of community, teamwork, industry, perseverance and selflessness; also of purity and chastity, and ultimately (on account of the hive’s annual hibernation) of rebirth and resurrection.

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