13 Graves of Edinburgh, a collection for October
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My every trip to the Scottish capital seems to include a jolly ramble around a cemetery or two, so I thought I should compile a little list of some of my favourite graves. (Surely I'm not the only one who has such things?)
Sir George MacKenzie of Rosehaugh (Greyfriars) 1691
The mausoleum of "Bluidy" MacKenzie is not only a thing of architectural splendour, but also one of the most haunted spots in the city. A King's Advocate, he was infamous for his harsh treatment, indeed torture, of prisoners which led to stories of his troubled soul being unable to find rest. Over the centuries there were tales of his coffin being heard to move, but things took a decided turn for the worse in 1999, after a homeless man ventured in to find shelter from the harsh winter weather. Descending the steps in darkness he missed his footing & fell - only for the decaying floorboards to give way, allowing him to plummet deeper underground. Imagine his horror when he found himself in an ossuary full of the skeletons of long-dead plague victims.
Since then there have been hundreds of reports of paranormal activity - visitors being grabbed, hit, their hair pulled, even cuts & burns appearing beneath their clothes. Unexplained fires have broken out around the tomb, dead yet unmarked animals are found upon the steps, & the noise of that shifting coffin can still, they say, be heard.
David Rizzio (Cannongate) 1566
Not, perhaps, the most visually arresting memorial, but what a tale lies behind it.
Initially hired as a musician in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, David Rizzio went on to become her secretary & close confidante. Although he had helped pave the way for Mary's marriage to Lord Darnley, the latter became jealous & together with a group of Protestant nobles plotted the Italian's downfall. On the evening of 9th March 1566, they forced their way into the Queen's private supper room, dragged Rizzio into the bed chamber & stabbed him 57 times.
Initially interred in the vault of Holyrood Abbey, he may well have been moved when an anti-royalist mob broke into the Abbey; although they desecrated several bodies (including that of Darnley) it may well be that they took pity on Rizzio, since he was murdered by a dastardly royal.
Borthwick Monument (Greyfriars) 1676
James Borthwick was a famed chirurgeon, hence the surgical instruments to be found on the side panels of the monument. It is the life-sized skeleton, however, which dominates this wall of the kirk - a perky depiction of the King of Terrors carrying the book of destiny in one bony hand & a scythe taken from Old Father Time in the other; he also calls to mind the danse macabre of medieval times in which cavorting skeletons visited death upon all walks of life from kings & popes to beggars & prostitutes.
The inscription has fallen foul of the Scottish elements & is no longer legible; fortunately it was recorded, & translates as To the memory of his father, James Borthwick of Stow, lawful son of the Cruixtoun family, most famous Chirurgeon Apothecary, Mr James Borthwick his eldest son in a mournful mind placed this monument.
George Foulis, Laird of Ravelston (Greyfriars) 1633
A mighty fine monument to the Laird, although perhaps it is his wife who needs the medal:
George Foulis of Ravilston, son of George erected this to the pious memory of his parents. A firm bond unites the blessed in Christ, whom gloomy death hath torn asunder... master of the king's mint, baillie of the city of Edinburgh & sixteen years a counsellor...Here he laid down the spoils of his morality, in hope of a new life, together with his dearest spouse, Janet Bannatyne, with whom he had lived 29 years in the greatest concord. He left six sons surviving; and as many daughters. He had five sons dead before him and one daughter...
Thomas Gray & Elizabeth Wilkie (Old Calton) 1747
A splendid assemblage of memento mori - motifs reminding the viewer that they, too, must die. Beneath the glorious galleon which refers to Gray's occupation as Wright in the Pleasants (shipbuilder) are a wealth of morbid symbols including a skull, crossed bones, sexton's tools & coffin; some think the face at upper right is a haloed angel, while others suggest that it is a portrait of Elizabeth herself. If that is the case, one must assume that it is Thomas, portrayed on the left, & that he was possessed of an "interesting" face.
John Bayne of Pitcarley (Greyfriars) 1681
Although the monument is dominated by the brooding be-caped figure of John Bayne, Writer to the Signet (lawyer) & Laird of Pitcarley, interment records tell of Baynes' wife, a James Cathcart & thirty nine others being buried within the tomb between 1688 & 1700. Now sitting quietly against the north wall of the graveyard, it was clearly once a very busy spot.
Mary Ann Robertson (Warriston) 1858
Mary Ann's father, Brigadier General Mason of the Bombay Artillery, commissioned a fabulous tomb for his daughter, alas now sadly damaged. Originally the white marble statue was enclosed in a shrine with a red glass roof, earning it the soubriquet The Tomb of the Red Lady. It must have been quite the spooky spectacle.
Sir James McLurg of Vogrie (Greyfriars) 1717
A couple of interesting details on this one - firstly, & quite confusingly, there is Medusa sitting at the top of either side panel. Above the more usual tools of the sexton's trade (mortality) & flaming torches (immortality of the soul), is she a proctector of the grave, warding off evil spirits? There are certainly enough of those said to roam Greyfriars for her to be required.
Secondly, the monument lists the beneficiaries of his will: To the common poor of Edinburgh 4000, To the trinity Hospitall 2000, To the Merchants Maiden Hospitall 5000, To the Trades Hospitall 1000, To the College of Edn. for a bursary of Divinity 3000, To the erection of a free school in Edinburgh 3000, To the Tolbooth Kirke for silver plates 1000, To a free school in Camonell 1000, To a free school in Vogrie 0500, To poor hous-keepers in Edr. 0500. A charitable gentleman indeed, but perhaps lacking in humility...
John Nasmyth of Posso (Greyfriars) 1614
Trumpeting angels of the resurrection, a skull & crossbones, plus a shroud-clad body sitting up in readiness to ascend to heaven, definitely the best symbols on one monument! All framing a quote from Corinthians 15:55 O Death where is thy sting? O Grave where is thy victory?. Perfection.
John Leishman & Hannah Elizabeth Weatherley (Dean Village) 1888
John Leishman Esquire was another Writer to the Signet, albeit a couple of centuries after John Bayne, & was clearly a lover of Venice. At the base of this white marble extravaganza sit three winged lions (symbol of St Mark, patron saint of the city), & further up are three cranes (frequenters of the canals). The ivy-wrapped column sweetly symbolises binding love, as Leishman lies here alongside his wife, Hannah Elizabeth Weatherley. Morbidly adorable.
James Morton, 4th Earl Morton (Greyfriars) 19th century
A Victorian nod to an earl actually buried in an unmarked grave in 1581 - although his head, having spent 18 months atop the prick on the highest stone of the ancient Tollbooth, did not join him until 1583.
He was the last of four regents ruling Scotland until James VI & I came of age, & is generally thought to have been the most successful since he finally saw off the rebellion in favour of James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots - but he had also been involved in the murders of both David Rizzio & Mary's husband, Lord Darnley & for this he met his end upon The Maiden, an early form of guillotine.
William Hey Hodgson (New Calton) 19th century
A simple gravestone included here on account of the inscription. It tells us next to nothing about William's life (he was aparently a doctor from northern England), but records his untimely demise unfortunately drowned in the Frith of Forth by the upsetting of a boat. While it is nice that the accident was deemed unfortunate, one must feel sorry for the poor doctor forever bound to a misspelling.
William McGonagall (Greyfriars) 1902
Another one included not for its intrinsic beauty, but for its backstory. This plaque is a memorial to a man dubbed "the world's worst poet", deaf to metaphor, averse to scansion, but utterly committed to rhyme. Witness his most (in)famous work, The Tay Bridge Disaster :
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.