Category: Events

Thursday 23rd February gather 6.45 for 7pm Vigil
The Red Gates, Redcross Way SE1

Turn up a bit before 7pm to greet friends and tune in.

The vigil begins on the stroke of 7 with simple rituals to remember those buried in Crossbones and our own lost loved ones, to honour the outcast and the outsider, not forgetting sex workers, and to reconnect with the secret history and transforming vision of The Goose, as revealed to John Crow at Crossbones on 23rd November 1996.

We’re not a religion, though we just might be a shamagical cult whose members are free to ‘come and go as they please’ in keeping with the Ordinances of our Bishop of Winchester! 😉

You’re invited to bring ribbons and mementos to tie to the shrine at the gates. In the middle of the vigil, there’s space to offer short poems and songs inspired by Cross Bones. Above all, bring your own magic, your love, care and beauty to share.

The 153th consecutive Vigil for the Outcast, Dead and Alive, observed on the 23rd of every month since 23rd June 2004.

Jennifer conducted last month’s vigil. This month’s Old Man Crow will do the honours with a little help from Friends of Crossbones – that’s you! We welcome your help with (officially) closing the road for the Vigil.

FREE! Donations welcome.

Friday 23rd December – gather 6.45 for 7pm vigil at the Red Gates Shrine in Redcross Way, London SE1

This will be the 151st monthly Vigil held by Friends of Crossbones on the 23rd of every month… to honour the outcast, dead and alive, to renew the shrine at the gates on Redcross Way, and to reclaim the Secret History of The Goose and her Liberty…

At our December Vigil we also celebrate the Winter Solstice, Yule and Christmas. Come prepared to sing carols!  Bring flowers and offerings, poems, songs and personal testimonies, and seasonal treats to share. FREE – donations welcome

If you’d like to volunteer to operate the road closure so we can all celebrate safely in the street, please contact me. If not, we’ll just have to arrange something on the night.

The garden of remembrance is closed over the holiday period (22nd December to 3rd January). However, during this period there will be occasional special openings on sunny days. These are intended to offer a festive surprise to people who happen to be passing and will only be announced on the Crossbones Garden noticeboard in Union Street. If you’re in the neighbourhood, you may like to look in.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

23rd November 2016
Being Human Festival: Hope and Fear at Crossbones Graveyard
5pm Discussion in the Boot and Flogger, Redcross Way SE17pm Vigil at the Red Gates

‘Hope and Fear at Crossbones Graveyard’ was part of the nationwide Being Human Festival of the Humanities. The night also marked our 150th consecutive Crossbones Vigil for the Outcast held on the 23rd of every month since June 2004 – and the 20th anniversary of the night that The Goose revealed ‘The Southwark Mysteries’ to John Crow, shamanic persona of the Southwark writer John Constable on the 23rd November 1996.

The event began with a discussion between Sondra Hausner, associate Professor of Religion at Oxford University, and John Constable, author of ‘The Southwark Mysteries’ also known as John Crow the shaman of Crossbones, whose work over the past 20 years forms the subject of Professor Hausner’s recent book, ‘The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard’.

The discussion was followed by a vigil conducted by John Crow, who performed ‘The Book of The Goose’ with Moksha aka Michelle Watson. She and Jethro Skinner also performed some of their songs. Local legend George of Bermondsey sang his Crossbones song, and sax star James Gilbert and drummer Andreas played live jazz in the street. Sondra Hausner also made an intervention relating to our ritual work at Crossbones.

Crossbones Vigil for the Outcast
Sunday 23rd October, gather 6.45 for 7pm Vigil
at the Red Gates, Redcross Way SE1
The 149th consecutive Vigil for the Outcast, Dead and Alive, observed on the 23rd of every month since 23rd June 2004. The Vigil will be conducted by John Constable aka John Crow. Please arrive before 7pm and bring ribbons, candles and mementos to renew the shrine at the gates, poems and songs, and acts of love, care and beauty to share.
FREE! Donations welcome

NB The Halloween of Crossbones is now fully booked. If you didn’t manage to book a ticket, please don’t turn up on the off chance – places are strictly limited and we won’t be able to let you in. If you’d like a flavour of the magic of our Halloween ritual drama, please come to the Vigil at 7pm on Sunday 23rd October, where we will also be communing with the spirits of Crossbones and remembering our own lost loved ones. Or enjoy Andrew Logan’s film of The Halloween of Crossbones held 10 years ago

You may also like to attend October Plenty, The Lions Part event in Borough Market, also on Sunday 23rd October. It starts at 12 noon and culminates around 4pm or 5pm in a procession to Crossbones led by The Green Man, Ceres and kindred Goddesses

Monday 31st October 2015 at 7pm
(Doors open 6pm for welcome, bar and snacks)
The Table Cafe, 83 Southwark Street, London SE1 0HX
Tube: Southwark (5 mins); London Bridge (10 mins). Bus: RV1, 381

The last ever performance of the legendary Halloween event
Welcome and social from 6pm, no admission after the performance starts at 7pm. Admission by ticket only. Tickets £12
BOOK NOW: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/376477

THE HALLOWEEN OF CROSSBONES – a ritual drama to honour the Outcast Dead of Crossbones Graveyard
* Magical poems and songs from The Southwark Mysteries by John Constable aka John Crow, with…
* Singer-poet Moksha and demon accordionist Tom Baker
* Tantric pulse by Jahnet de Light
* Procession to Crossbones Gates and the reading of the Names of the Dead
* Candlelit Samhain ceremony on Crossbones burial ground, now a Garden of Remembrance
* An Altar to the Ancestors… And You!
Please bring a personal memento for the Altar to the Ancestors, to be collected at the end of the performance or as an offering to be tied to the gates at Crossbones.

Over 16. Fancy dress encouraged. Dress for the weather essential!

Tickets £12 (+ £1.20 booking fee)
BOOK NOW: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/376477

Produced by Friends of Crossbones www.crossbones.org.uk with Bankside Open Spaces Trust www.bost.org.uk

Tuesday 23rd August at 6.45 for 7pm
by the Shrine in Redcross Way SE1 1TA

Crossbones Vigil

to honour the outcast, dead and alive, to renew the shrine at the gates on Redcross Way, and to reclaim the Secret History of The Goose and her Liberty. The 147th consecutive monthly Vigil held by Friends of Crossbones over 13  years of vigils held on the 23rd of every month.

This Vigil is conducted by Jacqui Woodward-Smith.