The City of London Cemetery offers a unique twist on the summer fair with the gruesome Day of the Dead (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

The City of London Cemetery offers a unique twist on the summer fair with the gruesome Day of the Dead

4:54pm Wednesday 15th July 2009 in

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EVER wondered about the particulars of incinerating a dead body?

Find out this weekend as London's largest cemetery hosts the gut-churning 'Day of the Dead.'

The City of London Cemetery, in Aldersbrook Road, will be holding its first open day in three years this Sunday.

In a unique take on the summer fair, urn and casket making will replace handicrafts and the brass band will swap old-time sing-alongs for the most requested funeral songs.

There will also be a chance to inspect the Victorian funeral cortège and enjoy wildlife tours of the ground's 200 acres of elegant rose gardens and woodland walks.

The land was first purchased by the City of London in 1854 to ease the pressure on overcrowded church yards.

Since then, thousands of the fallen have been laid to rest there, including Ripper victims and Bobby More.

Morbid visitors will also be treated to a rare viewing of the crematorium, including the 'cremulator' room, where leftover organics are ground down by stone balls and retrieved hip replacements are collected in buckets.

The free event will run from 10am to 4pm this Sunday.