David Corio

The Hardy Tree

St Pancras Churchyard, London, UK

Before becoming a novelist and poet Thomas Hardy worked for Arthur Blomfield firm of architects based in Covent Garden.They were commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the exhumation of human remains and dismantling of tombs at St Pancras Cemetery due to the expansion of the nearby railway line. Hardy was given the job of overseeing the removal of bodies and tombs from the land on which the railway was being built and they were placed around this ash tree in 1865. The tree has grown and now envelops some of the headstones. The site of the current church has a much earlier history being regarded as one of the earliest sites of Christian worship in England

THE HARDY TREE 01
The Hardy Tree