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Thomas Hardy, grave re-arranger

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) wasn't just a talented chronicler of depressing stories set in the country-side, but in his early twenties worked as an assistant-architect in a London architectural practice. During this time, he was given the responsibility for reinternment of the remains of over 7,000 graves.

I recently discovered this while walking round St Pancras Churchyard, near King's Cross Station, London. There is a curious pile of grave stones, around which a tree has grown, and a plaque that explains that "before turning to writing full time," Thomas Hardy "studied architecture in London from 1862-67 under Mr. Arlhur Blomfield, an architect based in Covent Garden. During the 1860s the Midland Railway line was being built over part of the original St. Pancras Churchyard. Blomfield was commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the proper exhumation of human remains and dismantling of tombs. He passed this unenviable task to his protegé Thomas Hardy in. c.l865". (See link 3 for photograph).

Hardy found London's heavily polluted atmosphere and bustling crowds not to his liking, and, despite some success in his career, moved back to Dorset in 1867 to pursue his writing.

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Related links:

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/hardy/banerjee.html
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/BA/ba88/feat1.shtml
http://www.flickr.com/photos/belowred/2408288566/