Angel of Death

The Angel of Death is the title given to this monument of George William Lancaster and his wife Louisa Mary who died on this day in 1922.

In Sweet and Loving Memory of

George William

Lancaster

23rd January 1920

Aged 66 Years

'Love Lives Forever'

The memorial was sculpted by Sydney March in Portland stone and Bronze and is a Grade II listed monument in East Sheen Cemetery. This work was influenced by North Italian tomb sculpture ~ especially Leonardo Bistolfi ~ and is considered one of the most significant examples of funerary sculpture.

The Lancasters were a north-country family who made their money in coal mining.

Their monument was described by Hugh Meller, author of London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide & Gazetteer, as 'arguably the most dramatic sculpture in any of London's cemeteries'. I have to admit that it is one of my favourites too.

Louisa Mary

Lancaster

Died

June 23rd 1922

'She Lived For Others' 

It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction and I recently found this very interesting article by Sheldon K Goodman about the relationship between George and his wife Louisa, whom he was not even married to, for the full story please continue to read his article..

https://cemeteryclub.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/the-bronze-angels-of-london/

Monday Mourning ~ Deadly Supersitious

Deadly Supersitious

In every culture around the world there are supersitious signs and omens surrounding death and dying and the foretelling of this event. Some you may have already heard of before and others are a variation of a theme........
Here are just a few: 

If the deceased has lived a good life, flowers would bloom on their grave; but if they have been bad, only weeds will grow upon it.


If several deaths occur in the same family, tying a black ribbon to everything left alive that enters the house, even animals, will protect against more deaths spreading further.

Bad Luck will follow you if you wear anything new to a funeral, especially shoes.

Always cover your mouth while yawning so your spirit doesn’t escape and the devil could enter your body instead.

It is bad luck to meet a funeral procession head on. If you see one approching, turn around. If this is unavoidable, hold on to your collar until the funeral cortege passes.

Large drops of rain warn that there has just been a death.

Stop the clock in a death room or you will have bad luck.

To lock the door of your home after a funeral procession has left the house is bad luck.

If rain falls on a funeral procession, the deceased will go to heaven.

If you hear a clap of thunder following a burial it indicates that the soul of the departed has reached heaven.

If you hear 3 knocks and no one is there, it usually means someone close to you has died. The superstitious call this the 3 knocks of death.

If you leave something that belongs to you to the deceased, that means the person will come back to get you.

If a wild bird enters your house it is a portent of someone living there, dying soon.


If you smell roses or lillies when none are present, someone is going to die.

If you don’t hold your breath while going by a graveyard you will not be buried.

If you see yourself in a dream, your death will follow.

If you see an owl in the daytime, a death will follow.

If you dream about a birth, someone you know will die.

If it rains in an open grave then someone in the family will die within the year.

If a picture falls off the wall, there will be a death of someone you know.


If you spill salt, throw a pinch of the spilt salt over your shoulder to prevent a death from happening in the family.

Never speak ill of the dead because they will come back to haunt you or you will suffer misfortune.

Two deaths in the family means that a third is sure to follow.

The cry of a curlew or the hoot of an owl foretells a death.

A single snowdrop growing in the garden foretells a death.

Having only red and white flowers together in a vase (especially in hospital) means a death will soon follow.

Dropping an umbrella on the floor or opening one in the house means that there will be a death in the house.

A diamond-shaped fold in clean linen portends death.

A dog howling at night when someone in the house is sick is a bad omen. It can be reversed by reaching under the bed and turning over a shoe.