St Laurence Churchyard, Ramsgate, 2018

St Laurence Churchyard, Ramsgate

Visited April 2018

I've previously visited this churchyard (back in 2015, again at Easter). That time was on a guided tour, whereas this time I was killing time, wandering through the gravestones on a grey early Spring day - although if it wasn't for the daffodils and primroses it could easily have been January!

The churchyard has been in use for many centuries, and today you can find graves going back to the 17th century. Look out for the multitude of skulls watching you from the stones as you walk past! There are well maintained areas close to the church (where most of the older graves are), and some much wilder places further in. 

Despite being surrounded by houses, and on a busy main road, is a quiet, tranquil place in the Ramsgate suburb of St Lawrence - the place and the church are indeed spelled differently.The church itself is the oldest building in Ramsgate, dating from 1062. Most of the architecture is Norman and Medieval, although of course there were some Victorian alterations...

St Augustine's Church, Northbourne, Kent

St Augustine's Church, Northbourne, Kent

Visited April 2018

The village of Northbourne, near Deal in Kent, is a small picturesque village with a lovely church and churchyard. There was a service going on in the church when I visited, so I contented myself with wandering around the churchyard. The cruciform church itself dates from the 12th century, and is on the site of an older Saxon church, traces of which can still be seen, I'm told, in the current building. 

The churchyard can be entered via paths from the village, or through a lychgate beside the village hall. It's been cleared in the past, so there are not a huge amount of old stones in situ; there are some along boundary walls, as is typical in older churchyards which have been cleared to make more room, and a few 17th & 18th century stones remain near the church, and the remains of what appears to be a mausoleum in one corner. 

There are also some lovely country walks in the area, so if you're passing do stop and take a look!

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.

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

St Nicholas Kirkyard, Aberdeen (2017)

St Nicholas Kirkyard, Aberdeen

Visited December 2017

The kirkyard (churchyard) of St Nicholas is right in the heart of Aberdeen, on the main shopping street, Union Street. I've visited here before, in the summer, but on a winter's day it's still lovely (if not somewhere to sit on a bench and ponder while waiting for a bus). The early graves were much clearer without their cloak of ivy from the summer, and somehow the leaves, moss and damp air made this feel more like a country churchyard than it does later in the year. 

Around the walls of the kirkyard are the most impressive memorials, presumably to the great and the good. Many date to the 17th and 18th centuries, and there are some lovely heraldic arms, skeletons and ships dotted among the inscriptions. The main burial area is dominated by moss-covered table tombs as well as gravestones from the late 1700s onwards. The earlier ones are at the side nearest Union Street, with those over the other side (Schoolhill?) being a bit later and more staid.