The rather macabre Hardy Tree stands tall in the St. Pancras Graveyard, as one of the stranger monuments of London’s history. The adjacent Church is thought to be one of Britain’s oldest places of worship, dating all the way back to 1708 and the Hardy Tree’s “arrangement” all the back to 1865.
Before becoming a Novelist, Thomas Hardy began his career working in construction. During this time, London’s underground was being built. As the the railway lines needed to run under the church, poor Thomas, being the youngest of the working group, was tasked with the grim job of supervising the dismantling and exhuming of the graves and tombs, and relocating the inhabitants.
Placing the gravestones where he knew they wouldn’t be disturbed, Thomas arranged the stones in a circular pattern around a nearby ash tree, giving the Hardy Tree its unique and infamous look. Over the many years, the tree’s roots have laced around the stones and adopted them as part of itself.
A figure of life and death entwined into one, the Hardy Tree is a must see for anyone who enjoys the strange and obscure.
THE BLOG OF TRAVEL 
What an interesting tree. Great photos. It’s kind of sad though as the headstones are placed so closely together that you can’t read each one. That must be hard for those seeking to find their ancestors headstones. Where were the coffins moved to?
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I couldn’t find it online but I think it’s in the same cemetery. It was a mass grave but that’s all I could dig up… Couldn’t resist the pun 😅
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I assumed it would end up being a mass grave.
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I’ve been wanting to visit this place for such a long time, thanks for reminding me! It’s incredibly eerie, just my kind of thing!
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Same here Nic, I love the spooky locations! Thanks for commenting 😊
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That is very interesting Emily and something I will have to see when in London again
Thanks for posting
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Thanks for reading! ❤️
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Emily,
Trippy. It looks like more than a few headstones bunched together. How long was that tree growing? Thanks, Gary
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It’s not clear if it was there at the time of the headstones being placed, or whether it grow later but its fair to say its at least 160 years old 🙂
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Great story and photographs. We walked past that church a few weeks ago without stopping so will have to go back now and take a look.
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Thanks Paul! 😊
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wow. curious and somehow enchanting! Thank for sharing!
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A bit spooky but London is full of these types of things! Thanks for reading Andy 😊
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