7 h 48 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 48 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What lies beneath London's streets, and what can its burial grounds tell us about the living?
In The London Burial Grounds, Isabella M. Holmes explores the places where Londoners bury their dead, from parish churchyards to crowded city plots. Her focus is not kings and battles, but ordinary people: where they rest, who cares for their graves, and how their burial places fit into daily life.
As London grows, space for the dead raises questions for the living. Crowded grounds stir fears about health and decency. Holmes follows the history of these places through a changing city, where old burial grounds become gardens and open spaces, or disappear beneath buildings and roads.
What you’ll discover
- A city beneath the streets Look beyond familiar roads to the burial places that help explain London's past.
- The parish churchyard Explore how parishes care for their dead and churches keep the records.
- Crowded ground, uneasy lives Discover why too many burials in too little space raise fears about health and decency.
- Gardens with a past Consider the burial grounds that become open spaces as the city changes around them.
- Ordinary people, lasting questions See London's history through the places where its people are laid to rest.
Who will love it
This book suits lovers of London history, walkers who like to read the city street by street, and anyone curious about the odd human stories hidden beneath familiar places.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Walking brings lost burial grounds back
- The city rests on earlier lives
- Cloister gardens preserve a buried pattern
- Famous tombs share ordinary burial earth
- Village memories meet the growing city
- Plague grounds deserve lasting respect
- Communities leave their own burial maps
- Overcrowded graves bring a reform campaign
- Closed grounds become shared green spaces
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 12 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The London Burial Grounds in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The London Burial Grounds
by Isabella M. Holmes · 1896
Isabella M. Holmes walks London's streets to find 362 burial grounds, from plague pits to children's playgrounds.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Why would a woman climb a rickety fence in Wandsworth just to look over a wall at a graveyard? Isabella M. Holmes did exactly that while hunting for London's burial grounds.
The London Burial Grounds at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 20 min3 h 30 min fast, 5 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 62,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1896by Isabella M. Holmes
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Holmes walks London to find its lost graveyards
Holmes begins with a simple observation. On a map of the 1740s she sees how many burial grounds no longer exist. She makes a table of them, and the project grows into a list of every burial place she can trace.
The records are poor, and she says so. A government report of 1833 claims to list every place of burial, yet clergy reply that they have no return to make. So she walks to each site and asks questions. An old man in a Shoreditch courtyard denies any graveyard stood there, then remembers workmen carting away a ton of bones.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 12 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1896
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Holmes, Isabella M. The London Burial Grounds. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-london-burial-grounds.
Holmes, I. M. (2026). The London burial grounds. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-london-burial-grounds (Original work published 1896)
Holmes, Isabella M. The London Burial Grounds. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-london-burial-grounds.
@book{holmes2026london,
author = {Holmes, Isabella M.},
title = {The London Burial Grounds},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-london-burial-grounds},
note = {First published 1896}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The London Burial Grounds
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The London Burial Grounds about?
It is a history and survey of London's burial places, from Roman cemeteries to plague pits, churchyards, Dissenters' grounds and Victorian cemeteries. It also tells how closed graveyards became public gardens and playgrounds.
Who was Isabella M. Holmes?
She was a London researcher who worked with the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. In 1895 she surveyed every burial ground in the county for the London County Council, and this book grew from that work.
What was the Disused Burial Grounds Act?
It is a law of 1884 that bans building on closed burial grounds. Holmes argues that it protects old graveyards from builders and keeps them available as open spaces for the public to enjoy.
The author
Isabella M. Holmes
British writer
Isabella M. Holmes was a London researcher and writer. Her book shows that she worked with the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, helped to lay out burial grounds as public gardens, and prepared the 1895 survey of burial grounds for the London County Council. Little else about her life is recorded here. The book itself shows a tireless walker, a careful reader of old maps, and a person of strong opinions.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
