The Western Cemetery was, for want of a better word, the attractive side of Highgate cemetery, and at its heart was Egyptian Avenue. Entrance to the avenue was through a vast gate, carved in stone with four columns, two on either side. The stonemasons responsible for coaxing these fake Egyptian roof supports from the raw materials they were supplied with were well remunerated for their efforts, and one local newspaper, renowned for its anti-Empire stance remarked that they looked so real, they could have been liberated from the people of the Nile by red-coated soldiers – with muskets and bayonets. Spindly, curious branches hung down from the trees above, trying to escape the darkness at the base of the canopy, searching for light and possibly even adventure, but they did not touch the ston
