Back in 2015 a friend showed me Garden Lodge in Kensington, London. Garden Lodge, at 1 Logan Place was Freddie Mercury's (Queen's frontman and all around amazing talent) house and where he died in 1991.
The first time I visited, part of its perimeter wall was used as a makeshift shrine to the late singer. Fans covered the wall with notes and messages and drawings and pictures in tribute to their memories of the legend.
When I decided to start this blog and began doing serious research and reading on all of London's rock and roll places, Garden Lodge was close to the top of the re-visit list. My latest visit, in March of 2021, showed that there aren't any messages posted anymore and that they're discouraged now as well. It has been reported that Freddie left the majority of everything he owned, including this house, to his long time friend Mary Austin who continues to live in the house today.
No one really knows for sure where Freddie's final resting place is. He was cremated at Kensal Green the day after he died in November of 1991. I wanted to know more so an internet search showed this result. A photo of a plaque in the memorial garden at Kensal Green's Crematorium.
(photo credit: scommetto-unita.com)
Translated from French it reads: "Always to be close to you with all my love, M"
Well, since Farrokh Bulsara was Freddie's birth name and the dates noted were his birthday and anniversary of his death, it didn't seem much of a stretch that this was where his ashes must have once been.
Reading up on the subject told of rumors that his ashes had been scattered in Lake Geneva, Switzerland where he had a home; in Zanzibar, Tanzania where he was born and some even thought he was scattered under a tree at Garden Lodge.
Armed with the photos I'd copied from that initial internet search, I approached a cemetery employee at the entrance gate to ask where I could find this area of the grounds. Her response was very curt and loud..."He's not there!" and she was very put off by my inquiry.
I did manage to find the area and no, that plaque isn't there anymore.
When I left the cemetery that day, I approached her and apologized for making her angry. She explained that I certainly wasn't the first person to ask the same question. She went on to say that yes, there had been a plaque there but someone had stolen the original one. They made a new one but his family advised the cemetery that they didn't want it displayed. Then she said, "So, we sent him to Zanzibar."
Make of that what you will. She works there but I'm not sure I would consider that an official statement.
We visit Garden Lodge on our video tour called The Stories of Some Kensington (and a couple other) Places. Here's a link to rent to view it: https://videolibrary.rocktourlondon.com/programs/the-stories-of-some-kensington-and-a-couple-other-places-81ee2a?categoryId=95943
We visit Kensal Green on our video tour called The Stories of Places Along The Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern Lines. Here's the link to that video tour: https://videolibrary.rocktourlondon.com/programs/the-stories-of-places-along-bakerloo-jubilee-northern-lines-bee3e6?categoryId=95943
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