While in London, we walked a lot of Hyde Park. Roughly at 350 acres, it contains quite a few attractions like Kensington Gardens, Peter Pan statue, the Albert Memorial, and the Marble Arch to name a few. With London having so much to see and do, of course, we missed a few.
One such thing was the Victorian Pet Cemetery. This marks the final resting spot of loved and adored pets that had been buried between 1881 and 1903, complete with headstones. According to Historic UK, a terrier named Cherry was the first to be laid to rest at the back garden of Victoria Lodge. Soon the Duke of Cambridge’s pet passed away and it became a place other wealthy Londoners wanted to bury their pets.
The cemetery closed in 1903 with a total of 300 graves which contained not only cats and dogs but small monkeys and several birds. George Orwell was not fond of the site as he called it “The most horrible spectacle in Britain.” It is said there is a gravesite of a cat that lived to be 38 years old.
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