Cross Bones Graveyard and "Fallen Women"

Photo: Julia Zerull

Our class’s most recent excursion was a walking tour through Southwark on the 25^th of February, 2019. We explored what was known as the darker side of the city in the Victorian era. Along our walk, we passed by a number of interesting sights and exercised our imagination in picturing the areas as they were over a hundred years ago. While the stories behind Charles Dickens’ childhood and smoothies from Borough Market were compelling (and delicious), the part of our tour that stuck with me the most was the Cross Bones burial ground.

Our guide explained that the plot was originally meant to be an unconsecrated burial ground for prostitutes like the Winchester Geese. It since evolved to a paupers burial ground, and now serves as a memorial for the “outcast dead.”  This theme of London outcasts, especially females, reminded me of the motif of the “fallen woman” that we discussed in previous classes. In the Victorian era, a woman who had “lost her innocence” was commonly characterized as such, and thus treated differently by society. The unconsecrated burial ground of the Winchester Geese follows that same pattern – women who are no longer innocent are separated from more “pure” women who may be buried in a consecrated cemetery and are cast aside and out of the way.

This theme appears to be all too common of the time period, exemplifying the massive differences between gender roles and expectations. This night and day difference can also be observed through the two polar sides of the city. “Pure” women were to reside in West London, among class and status. In contrast, “impure” women were cast off to the East End, where violence, crime and poverty were no stranger. This exemplifies how money was not the sole determinate in status, and moral values were just as, if not more important.