Imagining Beyond: The Eeriness of Place – in person talk on 25 February 2026
October 21, 2025
Wednesday 25th February 2026. Time 6.30pm in person and online
Death historian Dr Dan O’Brien presents a tour through the unpredictable world of the eighteenth-century burial ground. In a period before the emergence of cemeteries the burial ground was a familiar and practical solution to the inevitable problem of death. It had often been in continual use for centuries and was a resting place for the generations that was situated at the heart of the community that it served. Yet, the burial ground was not only a place for mourning and its residents did not always rest so peacefully. In this talk we will hear about the different people that might be found in a burial ground and the very eclectic range of activities that they were involved. Expect games, animals and crime in the spaces where undertakers brought the dead to be buried, where mourners gathered by taper light and where the sexton practiced the hazardous task of digging the most final of homes. The cast of different burial ground characters will be brought to life through evidence from a range of different sources. Through these fascinating accounts we can see how the place of burial was a lively and very public space that frequently brought the living close to the dead.
This hybrid talk will be held on site in the Spielman and online. The chapel will be open from 6pm and parking will be available on site from 5pm until the talk is concluded.
About our speaker
Dr Dan O’Brien is a historian of death in long-eighteenth-century England. His research primarily focuses on the development of the undertaking trade and the role of the trade in funerals of the period. His current research focuses mostly on London and Dan seeks to understand how the undertakers and their goods were perceived by society, by analysing how funerals were presented in the popular culture of the period. Drawing upon an eclectic range of source materials has enabled him to consider simple, but often overlooked, questions about how people’s knowledge about the early trade was formed. Dan also talks publicly to a wide range of audiences on different themes in mortality history such as funerary gifts, sea burial and mourning jewellery. He has recently appeared on the After Dark podcast talking about the funeral of Queen Victoria and describing a funerary crime on Killing Time with Rebecca Rideal.
Dr Dan O’Brien Social Media Links
TikTok : tiktok.com/@dr.dan.o
Instagram: Instagram.com/dr.dan.o
