Dean Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Dean Cemetery is a prominent cemetery
in the Dean Village
, in Edinburgh
, Scotland.
, of Nisbet House, near Duns
, Berwickshire
, is said to have written his Systems of Heraldry in Dean House. The estate house was demolished in 1845, and Sculptured stones
from it are incorporated into the south terrace wall supporting the edge of the cemetery.
Bridge Paper Mill) and became a fashionable burial ground, its monuments becoming a rich source of Edinburgh and Victorian history, but mainly middle and upper-class. Many bear witness to Scottish achievement in peace and war, at home and abroad.
The cemetery is privately owned by the Dean Cemetery Trust Limited.
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in the Dean Village
Dean Village
Dean Village is a former village immediately northwest of Edinburgh, Scotland city centre. It was known as the "Water of Leith Village" and was a successful grain milling hamlet for more than 800 years. At one time there were no fewer than eleven working mills there, driven by the strong currents...
, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland.
Dean House
It stands on the site of Dean House (built 1614), part of Dean Estate which had been purchased in 1609 by Sir William Nisbet, who became in 1616 Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The Nisbets of Dean held the office of Hereditary Poulterer to the King. The famous herald, Alexander NisbetAlexander Nisbet
Alexander Nisbet is one of the most important authors on Scottish heraldry. He is still much-cited, and his publications are still in print after nearly 300 years....
, of Nisbet House, near Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
, is said to have written his Systems of Heraldry in Dean House. The estate house was demolished in 1845, and Sculptured stones
Sculptured stones
Sculptured stones is a name applied to commemorative monuments of early Christian date found in various parts of the British Isles and Scandinavia....
from it are incorporated into the south terrace wall supporting the edge of the cemetery.
The cemetery
Dean Cemetery was laid out by David Cousin (who built ChirnsideChirnside
Chirnside is a hillside village in Berwickshire in Scotland, west of Berwick-upon-Tweed and east of Duns.-Notables:David Hume, the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, lived in Ninewells House, just south of the village...
Bridge Paper Mill) and became a fashionable burial ground, its monuments becoming a rich source of Edinburgh and Victorian history, but mainly middle and upper-class. Many bear witness to Scottish achievement in peace and war, at home and abroad.
The cemetery is privately owned by the Dean Cemetery Trust Limited.
Notable interments
- Sir Thomas BouchThomas BouchSir Thomas Bouch was a British railway engineer in Victorian Britain.He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, England and lived in Edinburgh. He helped develop the caisson and the roll-on/roll-off train ferry. He worked initially for the North British Railway and helped design parts of...
, railway engineer - Isabella Burton (née Lauder), with children, wife and family of John Hill BurtonJohn Hill BurtonJohn Hill Burton FRSE was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of "Life and Correspondence of David Hume", he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board , and Historiographer Royal ....
, historian - Samuel Butcher, professor of Greek at Edinburgh University, President of the British AcademyBritish AcademyThe British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, Liberal Unionist MP for Cambridge University - David Octavius HillDavid Octavius HillThe Scottish painter and arts activist David Octavius Hill collaborated with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of photography in Scotland.-Early life:...
(d. 1870), artist and photography pioneer - Andrew Inglis (d. 1875), M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of EdinburghRoyal College of Surgeons of EdinburghThe Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...
, and Professor of Midwifery at Aberdeen University - Sir Hector MacDonaldHector MacDonaldMajor-General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald, also known as Fighting Mac , was a distinguished Victorian soldier....
, (d.1903), Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
and distinguished Victorian soldier - William Henry PlayfairWilliam Henry PlayfairWilliam Henry Playfair FRSE was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th century, designer of many of Edinburgh's neo-classical landmarks in the New Town....
, architect - Robert Hepburn Swinton of that Ilk (d.1852)