Stones: South Leith churchyard, part one
Commonwealth War Graves Commission employees in South Leith churchyard
There’s a well-used shortcut through the kirkyard of South Leith Parish Church from the Kirkgate, a busy pedestrian area, to Constitution Street. It’s a pleasant place to be on a sunny afternoon when there are people about. I passed through one day last autumn on my way to nursery pickup, had a short chat with a couple of men from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who were doing some maintenance work, and took a few minutes to wander around with my camera.
These photos are a slightly random selection of whatever caught my eye. There are lots of Victorian stones in the churchyard, but I’m not so keen on those as I am on the earlier ones, with their carved imagery relating to trade guilds and 18th-century symbols of mortality. South Leith has a lower proportion of mariners’ graves than the nearby North Leith burial ground, but there are sundry prosperous merchants, maltmen, fleshers, printers, booksellers and so on, along with their families. I have too many photos to fit in a single post, so I’ll upload the rest later on.
The database of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland has an informative page about the South Leith Church site, with lots of photographs of the building and its surroundings.
Winged soul carved on the shoulder of Andrew Waugh and Elizabeth Hunter's stone
Death's head on the other shoulder of the Andrew Waugh and Elizabeth Hunter stone
Gravestone of Matthew Comb (d.1791)
1791
Here lies interred
Matthew Comb
His parents rear’d his
Infant tomb
Tho he left us
Broken hearted
We hope to meet
Ne’r to be parted
Gravestone of Elizabeth Maxwell (d. 1791) and Susan Maxwell
18th-c. stone bearing the trade emblems of the Fleshers: axe, cleaver and knife
Gravestone of Alison Lisle (d. 1764) and her husband Patrick Lermont, sailor in Leith
Detail of carving (winged soul) on the Alison Lisle and Patrick Lermont stone
Gravestone of Alexr. Robertson, Magdalene Biedie (mother of 21 children!), and others
Carving of a crown, an emblem of immortality, on the Robertson stone
Hi
My Great Great Great Great Grandfather is buried in the South Leith Churchyard. His Name was James Marr and he was burried there in 1855 after he passed away at the South Leith Poorhouse.
Is it possible that there is a Headstone there in the Church yard that has survived since 1855?
I would love a photograph of it, if it does exist….
Cheers
Colin Newton
I’d be glad to keep an eye out for him if I visit again anytime soon, and if I see anything relevant I’ll certainly photograph it for you. However, I know that a great many burials there are unmarked, and this is especially true of paupers’ graves; so it’s possible that he never had a headstone in the first place.
Still a nice spot in which to be buried :)
Thank you very much for that. I have visited the gravesite of his descendants here in Australia and likewise have found where they are buried, but alas no Headstones or Markers….it would be fantastic if I could find one. Understand that it is a large Churchyard Cemetery and that he may not have had a headstone…..
It is a lovely spot and one that our family originated form, before being based in the Highlands around Crichton.
Dear CR do you have a name that I can call you?
Thank you for your response to my e-mail and your offer to photograph if you happen to see – apprecaite that immensely.
My 4 times Great Grandfather’s son came to Australia on an Assisted passage in 1841 and that arm of the family has stayed here ever since……
Thank you for your time, Take Care and God Bless.
Cheers
Colin Newton