graveyards of edinburgh

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From royal mile

Robert Ferguson's grave


From royal mile


From royal mile


From royal mile
View over Old Toolbooth

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Canongate church is surrounded by it's graveyard. The church dates back in 1688 and many famous people are burried here.





Adam Smith - the father of political economy, his book 'The Wealth of Nations' being the first modern work of economics.

Robert Fergusson, the poet of Edinburgh, that so much influenced Robert Burns.





David Rizzio - the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, found his grave here, after he was murdered at Palace of Holyroodhouse by a plot considered to be leaded by Mary's husband, lord Darnley.

During the 17th and early 18th centuries, a grim profession emerged. A growing number of anatomists, keen to improve their medical knowledge, needed corpses on which to conduct dissections, which were often done in 'theatres', where members of the public could pay to watch.

Bodies were difficult to come by, as it was only legal to perform a dissection on the corpse of a recently executed criminal. So 'body snatchers', also known as 'resurrection men', made money by digging up fresh corpses and selling them to medical schools and hospitals.

Poor graves were easiest to plunder, as paupers were often buried in mass graves that were left uncovered for a few weeks, until they were full of coffins. Single graves were trickier and the body snatchers preferred method was to dig a narrow hole down to the coffin, break through the wood and pull the body out by attaching it to a rope. Corpses were then transported in sacks and barrels, often disguised as merchandise. A body wasn't considered anyone's property and so could be taken, but you could be convicted of theft for taking the shroud it was wrapped in, so that was left behind.

People were so afraid of being torn from their graves that the rich paid for metal coffins, or wooden caskets bound in metal bands called 'mort safes'. Bodies of the poor were kept in mass mort safes until they were too decomposed for dissection and then buried.

Source: Bloody Britain

In Edinburgh near St. Cuthbert's church there is a
watch tower from where the fresh graves were guarded for 5 days.

Burke and Hare are part of Edinburgh's (in)famous body snatching tradition.

As the school of medicine was well known, and benefited of a large number of students, the need for frsh corpses for dissection far exceeded the number that the natural death could offer. So, the high demand made some people to look for other than natural methods of obtaining fresh corpses... murder, of course.

the church I

the church II

from other lens

When I have visited once Dean Gallery, I had the surprise to see a graveyard on the other side of the fence. At the moment I saw it, classicfm (one of the best radio stations I ever listened to) was broadcasting Mozart's Lacrimosa. It was very strange this coincidence, that's why I decided to keep the moment - on photo, of course.

It was surprising to find a wiki page on Greyfriars Graveyard.

There are many stories related to Greyfriars graveyard:

* Covenanters' story - people who fought for their faith

*Greyfriars Bobby - the devoted dog who sat by his master's grave until he dies, 14 years later. Or check Trevor's lens - he knows some more about Bobby



*Ressurectionists

here are some pictures taken in autumn.

The wall that limits the graveyard from Candlerow street


The church


The place where the story says Bobby sat by his master's grave


View of the Hub



autumn



life and death - never seen them so close together



the pub near graveyard :)

A splendid article on Chopin's visit in Scotland at Jane Stirling's invitation

On this building's place Chopin had his last concert at 4th of October 1848

View over Scottish Parliament building