Highgate Cemetery, where Karl Marx is buried, is not straightforward, as it is a private cemetery with specific policies on who can purchase plots and often prioritizes plots for immediate funerals. Plots next to Karl Marx are extremely rare and command very high prices, with a burial plot costing upwards of £25,000 and a cremation plot costing around £5,000, while full burials can start from £32,580 for the East side and £56,325 for the West side.
Why buying a plot near Karl Marx is difficult:
- Limited Availability: The cemetery has limited space, and most available plots are reserved for immediate burials.
· · Private Ownership: Unlike many other cemeteries, Highgate is not a public or state-funded institution; instead, it is a private enterprise that charges an entry fee and relies on visitor fees and donations to maintain itself.
· · High Demand: As a popular tourist attraction, the area around Karl Marx’s tomb is highly sought after, making plots extremely expensive and difficult to acquire.
How to inquire about purchasing a plot at Highgate Cemetery:
- Contact the Cemetery Directly: Visit the Highgate Cemetery website to find the contact information and speak with them about their policies on plot purchases.
- Understand Eligibility: Inquire about the cemetery’s specific rules regarding eligibility for purchasing a grave plot.
- Be Prepared for High Costs: Be aware that prices are very high, especially for prime locations or a full grave space.
After 9.30am, buy tickets on the door. Tours are available today (Sunday).
Graves, burials & memorials
As well as being a beautiful and intriguing site, rich in history, architecture, landscape and romance, Highgate is still an operating cemetery, with up to seventy interments and some thirty to thirty-five graves sold each year.
Burials & funerals
Highgate Cemetery is owned and operated by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, a registered charity. The Cemetery is still open for burial but, due to shortage of space, graves are sold only for immediate use, or to those over 80 or to the terminally ill.
To find out whether someone is buried here, go to Searches
Graves and burials
Grave purchase
Cremated remains: Cremation graves can only be purchased following cremation and for use within 12 months, unless you are over 80 years of age or terminally ill. Prices depend on size and location, starting from £6,475 (East side) and £9,695 (West side) including VAT.
Full burials: Grave space can only be purchased for an imminent funeral. It is not possible to purchase grave space in advance unless you are over 80 years of age or terminally ill. Prices depend on size and location, starting from £32,580 (East side) and £56,325 (West side) including VAT.
Procedure
Relevant legal documentation and certificates must be received prior to any interment. A completed ‘application for interment‘ must be delivered to the Cemetery and fees and charges paid at least five working days prior to the interment.
Burial of ashes
Cremated remains must be buried in a container in a grave, unless they are to be poured by our staff. The scattering of remains is not allowed.
Funerals
Funerals may take place between 10am and 3pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays.
If a large number of people is expected at the funeral, arrangers are asked to advise us at least three days in advance so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
No demonstrations of any kind are permitted at funerals or anniversaries.
Grave ownership
Opening a grave
Only the person registered as the owner can authorise a burial, unless the burial is to be that of the registered owner.
Transferring grave ownership
The right of burial is transferable and inheritable. Ownership of the right of burial can only be transferred on the authority of the registered owner or executor, with the consent of the burial authority, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust.
Extending rights of burial
Rights of burial in grave spaces sold at Highgate Cemetery since the 1970s have a fixed duration which is specified on the deed of grant. Should grave owners wish, it is possible to extend the term up to a maximum of 75 years. Grant extensions are sold in whole years only, and the minimum duration of an extension is ten years. To calculate the maximum allowed extension, subtract the number of unexpired years, rounded up to the next whole number, away from 75. The price of an extension is based on the current selling price of an equivalent grave. The calculation we use is: [Current price of an equivalent grave] divided by 75 multiplied by the [number of years wanted].
Grave owner change of address or contact details
Use our online form to tell us about your address, phone number or email address. You’ll need to know your grave number. And, if you’re changing address, please upload a document such as a utility bill, bank statement or driving licence with your new details.
Contact
To discuss matters relating to funerals, burials and grave ownership, please telephone our Registrar on 020 8347 2471 or email registrar@highgatecemetery.org
Rules
The Highgate Cemetery Act 2022 confers powers upon the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust to operate, maintain and conserve Highgate Cemetery and to extinguish rights of burial and disturb human remains in Highgate Cemetery for the purpose of increasing the space for interments and the conservation of Highgate Cemetery; and for connected purposes.
In addition, there are rules to govern aspects of Cemetery operations, including the safety and conduct of visitors and the procedures relating to burials and memorials.
Please make yourself familiar with all of the regulations and ask a member of our staff if there is anything that you do not understand. Our regulations seek to provide a balance between individual rights and the need to regulate for a safe, tidy and dignified environment with respect for both our historic character and the needs of other grave owners. For example, the prohibition of glass, plastics and artificial flowers is based on these items being potential hazards as well as for aesthetic considerations.
Please download a copy of our rules here.
Memorials
Memorials should be erected on the grave between twelve to eighteen months after the burial.
We can put you in touch with companies who have worked here in the past. If you like the look of a recent memorial, we may even be able to tell you who produced it!
Memorials
To commission a unique and individually-crafted memorial is not as expensive as you might think. To understand how memorials can be beautiful, take a tour of the Cemetery and see how the design and inscriptions still move you today.Memorials that are personal, unique and in harmony with their environment are works of art. This can apply to the most modest memorial. For many people, commissioning a memorial may be the only opportunity they have for creating a work of art with the living to commemorate the dead.
In some areas, only headstones are permitted, with no marble, polished stones or gold lettering. Owners should consult the cemetery before commissioning a memorial to avoid problems later.
To discuss your memorial, please telephone our Registrar on 020 8347 2471 or email registrar@highgatecemetery.org.
Book of Remembrance
Our Book of Remembrance contains your tributes to honour and commemorate the cherished lives of loved ones who have died. They will be individually hand-lettered by a master calligrapher.
The book will be placed in a cabinet in the Chapel and opened at the appropriate date each day. An online version will be available remotely.
Anyone can place an entry in our Book of Remembrance. It is an appropriate way of remembering those who are buried here or elsewhere, for example, someone with Highgate connections whose remains were scattered in their favourite beauty spot.
Please read our guidance on writing an entry beore placing your order.
Guidance on writing an entry | Template | Terms and conditions | Book of Remembrance enquiries
View our Book of Remembrance online (Only a few entries just now, but more coming)
Responsibility for maintenance of graves
Grave owners are responsible for the care of the grave and its memorial. Any memorial not kept in good repair may be repaired or removed by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust at the owner’s expense.
Memorials and plantings are confined to the area of the grave site, except in the ‘The Mound’ (Square 122 of the East Cemetery) where planting is restricted to a maximum of 4 feet from the grave head. Artificial flowers, plastic decoration, marble chippings and glass containers must not be used anywhere.
Vegetation from surrounding graves must not be removed without permission. Shrubs and trees can be planted on gravesites only with the prior approval of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust. Unauthorised plantings may be removed.
Permit fees
Grave owners must apply for a permit and pay a fee to erect, inscribe or renovate their memorials.
- To erect a headstone or tablet £245
- To erect a monument £320
- To add an element to an existing memorial £125
- To add an inscription to an existing memorial £125
- To clean, renovate or repair a memorial, or other minor works £65
Register a change of ownership £165
Book of Remembrance entry
5 lines £330
8 lines £495
Standard artwork £95
Complex artwork £125
Fees include VAT at standard rate.
Opening times
March to October
Open daily from 10am to 5pm
Last entry 4.30pm
November to February
Open daily from 10am to 4pm
Last entry 3.30pm
Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day
How to get here
Please visit us by walking, cycling, or public transport
Find out more on our Visit page. Download our handy map.
Contact us
Email info@highgatecemetery.org
To find out whether someone is buried here, go to Searches. We have an online search tool.
Telephone enquiries
Monday to Friday
General enquiries 020 8340 1834
Burials, memorials, grave ownership 020 8347 2471
Filming or photography requests 020 8347 2472
Group visits 020 8347 2475
Volunteering 020 8347 2474
You can download a full set of our rules here.
© 2025 Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust. Registered Charity No. 1058392. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No. 3157806. Registered office Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ
@COLLECTED AND CIRCULATED
