The upside down man
Where would we be without our eccentrics? Here resteth Major Peter Labelliere, who departed this life in 1800 at the age of 75 – and who insisted on being buried vertically, head first.
This headstone marks the spot. It’s on Box Hill – one of Surrey’s finest beauty spots which offers stunning panoramic views across the Weald towards the south coast of England.
Labelliere, who lived in nearby Dorking, chose to be buried head first “because, as the world is turned upside down on Judgement Day, only I will be the correct way up”.
Not only that, but apparently he also asked that his landlady’s two young children should be allowed to dance on his coffin, to demonstrate that funerals weren’t sombre affairs. According to the National Trust, which owns Box Hill, this wasn’t felt to be in the best possible taste; only the boy complied, while the little girl merely sat on the coffin!
The upside down man
Where would we be without our eccentrics? Here resteth Major Peter Labelliere, who departed this life in 1800 at the age of 75 – and who insisted on being buried vertically, head first.
This headstone marks the spot. It’s on Box Hill – one of Surrey’s finest beauty spots which offers stunning panoramic views across the Weald towards the south coast of England.
Labelliere, who lived in nearby Dorking, chose to be buried head first “because, as the world is turned upside down on Judgement Day, only I will be the correct way up”.
Not only that, but apparently he also asked that his landlady’s two young children should be allowed to dance on his coffin, to demonstrate that funerals weren’t sombre affairs. According to the National Trust, which owns Box Hill, this wasn’t felt to be in the best possible taste; only the boy complied, while the little girl merely sat on the coffin!