Monday Mourning ~ Tumbled Stones

Despite it's aged appearance, I took this photo only last year because I was amazed at the subsidence from rabbit burrows ~ of which there are many etc, that had caused this jumble of headstones in Southend~on~Sea Cemetery.

Cemetery Excavations

The toppled tombstones are due to the excavations of it's residents, Graveyard Rabbits have caused this subsidence at Southend~on~Sea.

And Cemetery Badgers have moved into this quiet little spot in Rayleigh as well, there's even a road sign outside that warns drivers of their nocturnal highway crossings.........

Friday's Funerary Art ~ Art Deco Styles

The following monuments are in the Art Deco style, which reached it's peak during the 1930's, with it's geometric streamlined patterns and shapes. This style was applied to almost everything of that era, architecture, transport, furniture, household items and also included fashion and hairstyles.

It's interesting to see the similarity between this building in Los Angeles, and the monument above it from Southend~on~Sea in England.

  

And this monument in Llandudno in Wales, reminds me of the iconic Chrysler building in New York. 

Even though the headstone is a simple one, this Art Deco vase below reflecs the style of those times.

Wednesday's Child

In Loving Memory of

our Darling

Keith Dodds

who fell asleep Feb. 1st 1941

aged 5 years 11 months

'An Angel Lent'

A Crown of Thorns

An Easter Tribute

At first I thought this was just the remains of some ivy branches after having been removed. But the delicate and amazingly still intact Crown of Thorns, is also carved from the stone.

It has endured, even though some of the inscription has worn away with time.

In Loving Memory of

Susannah Hayward

? Nov   190?

RIP

Wednesday's Child

In Loving Memory

of

Archibald Henry Clark Iles

called away July 17th 1911

aged 9 months and 6 days

Wednesday's Child

The inscription below Donald's age says:

Dearly loved - Sadly missed

 

Theatrical Costumier

The inscription on this headstone in Southend-on-Sea intrigued me, for I could tell by the Greek Masks of Comedy and Tragedy that R. St.John Roper had been connected in some way with the world of Entertainment.
The name was not one that I was familiar with, but upon further research found out that R. St.John Roper had in fact been a theatrical costumier for traditional Seaside Resort Shows such as the Fols De Rols and many other West End productions including the 1950's 'Paris to Piccadilly'  when the famous scantily clad Folie Bergere appeared in England.
Here is a drawing of a design that came up for Auction and was expected to fetch between £200 - £300.

The finale of Encore Des Folies, for instance, grouped the entire company in black-sequined costumes against a decor composed wholly of rose-pink ostrich feathers! Altogether that particular show, on which the staggering figures are now available, used over twelve hundred costumes, a thousand yards of gold kid, and a quarter of a billion sequins; there were a £1000 worth of white fox furs, and a hundred yards of material were used in each showgirls crinoline. Even the scantily clad showgirls cost over £500 apiece to "dress" in extravagant head dresses, feathers and bejewelled accessories
and remember that these prices were in the early 1950's.