The Brompton Cemetery Time Machine Mystery

The Brompton Cemetery time machine has boggled locals and people across the world for years now. Here is what conspiracy theories have to say about its contents and what the government actually believes.

Brompton Cemetery London

Abney Park, Highgate, Kensal Green, Nunhead, Tower Hamlets, West Norwood, and Brompton Cemetery, London were the seven magnificent burial grounds in the 19th century when the living were haunted by death disguised as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox, and other deadly diseases. Inside the Brompton rests Hannah Courtoy and Joseph Bonomi, the creators of a time machine. 

Hannah Courtoy

Hannah was born around 1784 and worked as a young housemaid in the house of John Courtoy, a wealthy man in his late 70s. A few years down the lane, Hannah births 3 daughters and claims Courtoy to be the father. While Courtoy himself denied her claims, the lack of paternity testing added to the mystery. 

Following Courtoy’s death, Hannah inherited a large share of his estates with which she indulged in the Victorian fascination for Egyptian stories and customs in 1827. Joseph Bonomi, an Egyptianologist, became her catalyst.

Tomb Cemetery

Hannah died in 1849 and was buried in Brompton tomb cemetery. The cemetery had a pyramid-like structure and was engraved with  Egyptian symbols and hieroglyphics to depict her passion for time machines, teleportation, and Egyptian Pharaohs. The mausoleum also had a lock and key. 

The cemetery is made of granite and guarded with a bronze door. The inscriptions, the circular glass orbs on all four sides add to the exotic appearance of the tomb, resembling a clock of sorts. While a few addresses the glass orbs were added to let sunlight inside, the absence of the tomb’s presence in the cemetery plans has made the tomb intriguing to beholders.  

London Time Machine

Though cemeteries serve as a breeding ground for ghost stories and mysteries, the time machine at Brompton Cemetery did not become famous until Bonomi’s death.

Bonomi was buried a few feet away from Hannah and her daughters under a simple tomb but his tomb was engraved with an Egyptian Jackal headed God, Anubis, pointing his finger towards Hannah’s tomb cemetery eerily. People began speculating stories, but a time machine wasn’t part of all these mystery stories. 

The stories died down, and the missing key to her tombstone was never found. In 1998, Samuel Warner (A Clerkenwell Inventor), Bonomi’s associate, published an article in Associate Press (AP) stating that he helped Bonomi build a time machine for Hannah. Warner was known for his bizarre inventions that were funded by the British navy. This added to the umpteen rumors.

Brompton Cemetery Time Machine

The Brompton cemetery time machine theories state that the tomb has a teleportation facility that can take you to a graveyard in Paris from London. Stephen Coates’ 2011 blog described Bonomi’s and Warner’s trials with ancient Egyptian occult teleportation rituals, but he dismissed the idea outside his blogs. 

Hannah’s tomb was erected several years after her death. Still, Bonomi, Warner and a few of their children died immediately and were buried under their dedicated tombs that were built along with Hannah’s. People speculate that Hannah and her inner circle could have actually teleported somewhere, escaping reality.

Hannah’s tomb may not be the only Egyptian-styled tomb in London but it is the only one holding three spinsters, hieroglyphics and a twisted monogram lock with no key. Roy Godson, Hannah’s direct descendant, hopes to find the key to her tomb to unravel the mystery once and for all but no locksmith could open it and the authorities are still reluctant to create a key for the sake of opening it.