St Cuthbert's churchyard, Edinburgh

St Cuthbert's Churchyard, Edinburgh

Visited July 2018

At the end of Princes Street Gardens, and in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, is the parish church of St Cuthbert's, surrounded by its historic graveyard. The church dates from the late 19th century, but there have been churches on the site since at least the 12th century, if not a few centuries earlier.

 Although it's got stunning views over the Castle, and opens directly onto the Gardens, it was quiet when I visited on a Saturday afternoon at the end of July.

The gravestones here are a real mix - in the oldest part there are loads of skulls and other memento mori symbolism, with graves dating back to the 17th century. In the northern sections the Victorian and more recent gravestones are plainer, and arranged in rows, but there are some interesting insights into the social history of the time, as so many include details of the roles in society of those buried there, not just names, dates and epitaphs.

Should you find yourself at the far end of Princes Street, do go in here - it's not nearly as well known as Greyfriars, but is just as interesting, if not more so, and much, much less visited. A true gem in the heart of Edinburgh!

Dyce old burial ground, Aberdeen

Dyce Old Burial Ground, Aberdeen

Visited August 2018

On a hillside near Aberdeen Airport (just the other side of the River Don, near the new bypass) is Dyce Old Burial Ground. It's adjacent to Dyce Cemetery, which is still in use, with beautiful views over the river.

In the old part lies the ruined St Fergus's Church, and inside the door of this are the Dyce Symbol Stones - more the stones can be found on the Historic Environment Scotland website. The church itself dates to the 13th or 14th century, although it has been much repaired and restored - you can see lots of blocked up windows and doors, and some older stones are now built into the walls. It was in use until the mid-19th century.

Outside the chapel, most of the gravestones which remain are Victorian or later, although burials have been carried out here for much longer. One noticeable thing is that names don't always appear on the stones; people are referred to as 'mother', 'father' or even 'uncle'. I've never seen that anywhere else.

Beside the old graveyard is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, reserved for airmen - Aberdeen Airport was an RAF station during the Second World War, and this extension to the graveyard was created just for the burial of airmen. Next to this is the current burial ground.

Duff House Mausoleum, Aberdeenshire

Duff House Mausoleum, Banff, Aberdeenshire

Visited November 2018

Duff House is historic house on the outskirts of Banff, Aberdeenshire, previously owned by the Earls of Fife. It's now managed by the National Trust for Scotland, as both a historic building and art gallery.

About a mile's walk through woodland from the house, and with free access, lies Duff House Mausoleum, built in 1793 by the second Earl. On one of the exterior walls is a much earlier tomb, that of Alexander Douglas, provost of Banff from 1648-50, which was moved from St Mary's Kirkyard in Banff to the mausoleum by the 2nd Earl, who passed it off as one of his ancestors! He also had another tomb moved, but it was returned to its original site in 1965.

The mausoleum now holds the remains of 21 (genuine) members of the Duff family, including some who were moved here from their original burial places. The mausoleum is kept locked, but you can get up close and peer through the ornate iron gateway. It's opened every autumn as part of the 'Doors Open' scheme in Scotland.

It's a pretty walk through the woods to the mausoleum, where you can also take in the views across the river, the ice house and a gravestone for Bevis, Tip and Barkis, three dogs which belonged to the family in the 19th century!

St Albans Cathedral, November 2018

St Albans Cathedral, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Visited November 2018

There are lots of interesting old memorials in St Albans Cathedral, and of course the shrine of St Alban (image included here, even though it isn't strictly a grave). The cathedral is also surrounded by  what was the parish graveyard, mainly late 18th century and Victorian in date, which you can see some of in the bottom picture. 

The day I visited, the rain was pouring down and the light in the cathedral wasn't great, hence the lack of pictures...

Brockwell and Ladywell, 2018

Brockwell and Ladywell Cemetery, London

Visited October 2018

A bit of a damper and more overcast day than my last autumnal visit to this cemetery (pictures here), but still a tranquil place to walk around in the early autumn. There wasn't another person around for most of the time I was there, although go a month earlier and the blackberry pickers are out in force!

St Pancras Old Churchyard, London

St Pancras Old Churchyard, London

Visited January 2019

I've visited this churchyard previously, but I'm always fascinated by the 'Hardy Tree', surrounded by old gravestones placed there when part of the burial ground was cleared to make way for an extension to St Pancras station (possibly by the author Thomas Hardy, who was working in the churchyard at the time).

This time, I was also able to spot a few stones with skulls on - yay! - and visited the former burial place of Mary Wollstonecraft. She is best known as the author of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman', a key feminist text published in 1792, and her husband William Godwin. Mary was also the mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. In 1851, following the wishes of Mary Shelley, the remains fo Wollstonecraft and Godwin were removed to the Shelley family tomb in the church of St Peter in Bournemouth. The gravestone in St Pancras OIld Churchyard was restore din 1992, the bicentenary of 'Vindication'.

The Hardy Tree

The gravestone of Mary Wollstonecraft and Willaim Godwin

Brompton Cemetery, London

Brompton Cemetery, London

Visited October 2018

This is a beautiful Victorian cemetery, one of the 'Magnificent Seven', which always repays a repeat visit. 

The autumn colours were in full force on this sunny October day, and I'm pretty sure I wandered into some parts which I hadn't been to before. It's perhaps the lack of leaf cover which shows up some new details each time.