The original entrance gate was designed by John Chislett, who laid out the cemetery; the Administration Building with its clock tower was added in 1870 and expanded in the 1920s. Through it all, the keepers of the cemetery made sure that each new addition formed part of a harmonious whole—which is a difficult thing to do over the course of eight decades of changing fashions.
Ibrealla Loomis Phipps died in 1888 at the age of 26, and that is probably about the date of this very 1880s recording angel.
The pyramid (in classical Roman rather than Egyptian shape) is unusual enough; the fact that it appears to be reading a pair of giant books makes it look a bit like one of the Daleks from Doctor Who. The books are almost completely illegible; the cemetery’s site guesses that these monuments mark the graves of the Wainwright Brothers, successful brewers in the middle 1800s.
The Smithfield East End cemetery is very well maintained (it is now owned by the Homewood Cemetery across the street), but for some reason a couple of monuments on the far east side of it are overrun with vines. In this November picture, most of the leaves have fallen, and we can see more of the monument. The leaves that remain are picturesquely colorful.
A tall obelisk with the oblique cross that often Christianizes obelisks in Catholic cemeteries.
