Highgate Cemetery Tour | Famous (and not so famous) British Museum graves | Curator's Corner S8 Ep9

Join Curator of ‘this and that’ Henry Flynn as he takes you, yeah you, on a British Museum themed tour of London’s Highgate Cemetery.

Highgate Cemetery is the final resting place of an incredible number of people you’ve almost definitely heard of. Philosopher, economist and political theorist; Karl Marx. Author and 6 ft 5 ape-descendant; Douglas Adams. Activist and founder of Notting Hill Carnival; Claudia Jones. Inventor of cinematography; William Friese-Greene. And of course, Thomas Watts; Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum and man famed for having shelved over 400,000 volumes alone.

Okay so you may not have heard of Thomas Watts, but you will be very familiar by the end of this tour, where you will meet the artists, philosophers, writers, collectors and staff that have at one time or another contributed to the British Museum.

CONTENT WARNING:

Intro 0:03
Why was Highgate Cemetery built? 0:40
Grave of Douglas Adams 1:46
Grave of Henry Vaughan 3:38
Grave of Louisa Starr/Louisa Canziani 5:20
Grave of Thomas Watts 7:08
Grave of Karl Marx 9:15
Grave of Sir Colin St John Wilson, architect of the British Library 11:05
The British Museum British Library Bloomsbury site 11:45
Grave of Alfred Stevens, Wellington Monument 13:12
Conclusion 16:25

[Scruffi]

Yeah, this guy is great! Knowledgeable, personable, clearly very comfortable in front of a camera, well-spoken, and with a perfectly wry sense of humor. Also clearly a Douglas Adams fan, which earns him a solid 6/5. I'd be okay if you had him on a lot more often.

[demonia]

Chloe one of my cats was lying on me in bed as I watched this and she swivelled her ears towards my tablet when the meow sound played. You even got her attention.

[isabeltoledo]

Thanks!! Great video for studiyng English and learning about some London's interesting facts, both at the same time. It's curious that what lead me here, was that I was reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", 😳I read the word "reckon"😯, went to Youglish to undestant how to use it and this is one of the videos Youglish recommended to me for that purpose 😲 and what was my surprise to see that Adams' grave was the first one to be visited 😧 but not only that... video's theme was inspired from another Adams' book that describes the concept of interconnectedness 😱 What are the chances?!!!

[MenaceGallagher]

This guy has major Brian David Gilbert energy

[jingojango]

What a very charming curator! Very interesting topic and good presentation, well done :)

[wilfredgon]

He got me when he said "ah there you are". He was talking to me so I will eagerly watch.

[causewaykayak]

That was super. Just what you'd expect from The Museum . Informative, engaging, entertaining and In a nice way - a bit 'off the wall'

Another win for the Curators !!

[merlapittman]

I love, love, LOVE that the video begins and ends with the wonderful Douglas Adams! This is just a marvelous video all the way through. Henry Flynn is an excellent tour guide. More, please!

[DevilishScience]

Talking about The Interconnectedness of All Things, opposite Karl Marx is the tomb of the philosopher Herbert Spencer (I don't think he had any connection with the British Museum). So it's comforting to know that Marx and Spencer are together in death.

[spalmer]

As if the British Museum could get any better - yes, yes it can! This was zany and so very interesting. I've enjoyed Henry's Curator's Corner videos (and actually from all the curators!) and this one is wonderful. Two subjects rolled into one, what a marvelous idea! P.S. please tell Henry I enjoyed his Doctor Who video and watched again from the link. Plus the 10th Doctor is my favourite!

[loose_tooth]

I was going to leave my collection of priceless Turner paintings & Michelangelo doodles to the Museum... but now I know, given the passage of time, that such an act is only worth two and half Alfies (!!!) I have changed my mind and am going to sell them all abroad instead.

(On a more serious note, I very much enjoyed this Curator's Corner).

[alocino]

ok we need more of this, a lot more, first of all the video is super interesting, and super well shot and edited, loved the connection to dirk gently, best tv series ever togheter with doctor who, and that too was nominated, and also loved the idea of the video in itself, so all in all, we need more of this.

[jaysmith]

Henry Flynn is a very engaging and informative curator in one of my fav places to visit when I come to London. Thank you!
(Although I do love the V&A as well as BM.... don't tell) 😊

[ladyliberty]

Hi Henry!! Enjoyed this so much, good of you to walk us around- hard to choose amongst such interesting characters !! Thanks again!

[DJGlenR]

Highgate Cemetary is one of the most beutifu, serene and peaceful places in the country. So interesting as well

[Jon-cwbb]

Wow that was very enjoyable and informative. Really felt like an informal chat

[madaug]

This was very interesting, thank you. I hope we get to see more of Henry and the cemetery.

[l.a.glover]

It's a good thing this video has closed captions, since Henry speaks so quickly that he's difficult to understand. That being said, he's great fun. Slow down, Henry!

[lauriesims]

The guy who didn't finish anything gets Five while Thomas Watts, who finished his whole life by dying in the museum, only gets Four?! A travesty I say!

[FloraWest]

This is my favorite place to recommend to anyone who visits England--an amazing spot!