Greyfriars Kirkyard
Encyclopedia
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...

 surrounding Greyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland...

 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
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town
Old Town, Edinburgh
The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is the medieval part of the city. Together with the 18th-century New Town, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....

, adjacent to George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...

. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.

History

Greyfriars takes its name from the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 friary on the site, which was dissolved in 1559. The churchyard was founded in 1561/2, to replace the churchyard at St Giles, which was considered full. A record from the Town Council records for 23 April 1561 reads:



The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...

s. The Covenanting movement began with signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars Kirk on 28 February 1638. Following the defeat of the militant Covenanters at Bothwell Brig
Battle of Bothwell Bridge
The Battle of Bothwell Bridge, or Bothwell Brig, took place on 22 June 1679. It was fought between government troops and militant Presbyterian Covenanters, and signalled the end of their brief rebellion...

 in 1679, some 1200 Covenanters were imprisoned in a field to the south of the churchyard. When, in the 18th century, part of this field was amalgamated into the churchyard as vaulted tombs the area became known as the "Covenanters' Prison".

During the early days of photography in the 1840s the kirkyard was used by David Octavius Hill
David Octavius Hill
The 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:...

 and Robert Adamson
Robert Adamson (photographer)
Robert Adamson, was a Scottish pioneer photographer.Adamson was born in St. Andrews, he was hired in 1843 by David Octavius Hill , a painter of romantic Scottish landscapes. He was commissioned to make a group portrait of the 470 clergymen who founded the Free Church of Scotland. Hill required...

 as a setting for several portraits and tableaux
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...

 such as The Artist and The Gravedigger.

Greyfriars Bobby

The graveyard is associated with Greyfriars Bobby
Greyfriars Bobby
Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray , until he died himself on 14 January 1872...

, the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave. Bobby's headstone at the entrance to the Kirkyard, erected by the Dog Aid Society in 1981, marks his actual burial place in an unconsecrated patch of the Kirkyard - a peculiarity which has led to many misunderstandings and fictions about his burial. The dog's statue is opposite the graveyard's gate, at the junction of George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Measuring 300-metres in length, the bridge was constructed between 1829 and 1832 as part of the Improvement Act of 1827. Named for King George IV, it was designed by architect Thomas Hamilton , to connect the South Side district of...

 and Candlemaker Row. The grave of auld "Jock" Gray, where the dog famously slept for 13 years, lies on the eastern path, some 30m north of the entrance. The stone is modern, the grave originally being unmarked.

Monuments

Enclosed vaults are found mainly on the south edge of the graveyard and in the "Covenanters' Prison". These either have solid stone walls or iron railings and were created as a deterrent to graverobbing, which had become problematic in the 18th century. Greyfriars also has two low ironwork cages, called mortsafe
Mortsafe
Mortsafes were contraptions designed to protect the bodies of the dead from disturbance. There had been body-snatching close to the schools of anatomy in Scotland since the early 18th century...

s. These were leased, and protected bodies for long enough to deter the attentions of the early 19th century resurrection men who supplied Edinburgh Medical College with corpses for dissection.

Notable monuments include the Martyr's Monument, which remembers executed Covenanters. The Italianate monument to Sir George Mackenzie
George Mackenzie (lawyer)
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...

 was designed by the architect James Smith
James Smith (architect)
James Smith was a Scottish architect, who pioneered the Palladian style in Scotland. He was described by Colen Campbell, in his Vitruvius Britannicus , as "the most experienced architect of that kingdom".-Biography:...

, and modelled on the Tempietto di San Pietro, designed by Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St...

. Duncan Ban MacIntyre
Duncan Bàn MacIntyre
Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir is one of the most renowned of Scottish Gaelic poets and formed an integral part of one of the golden ages of Gaelic poetry in Scotland during the 18th century...

's memorial was renovated in 2005, at a cost of about £3,000, raised by a fundraising campaign of over a year. The monument of John Byres of Coates, 1629, was one of last works of the royal master mason William Wallace
William Wallace (mason)
William Wallace was a Scottish master mason and architect. He served as King's Master Mason under James VI.From 1615, Wallace is known to have been the leading mason working on the King's Lodgings at Edinburgh Castle. On 18 April 1617 he was appointed King's Master Mason, holding this post until...

.

Haunting

The Greyfriars Cemetery is reputedly haunted. One such haunt is attributed to the restless spirit of the infamous 'Bloody' George Mackenzie
George Mackenzie (lawyer)
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...

 buried there in 1691. The 'Mackenzie Poltergeist' is said to cause bruising, bites and cuts on those who come into contact with it and many visitors have reported feeling strange sensations. A schoolboy, hiding in the vault to escape a beating from a master at George Heriot's School, supposedly got trapped here and lost his mind on being confronted by the ghost. Visitors who take a ghost tour, which has access to the Covenanters' Prison, have reportedly emerged with injuries they have no recollection of sustaining. Even more interestingly, a number of deaths have taken place in the Kirkyard itself. The television show Scariest Places on Earth
Scariest Places On Earth
Scariest Places on Earth is an American paranormal documentary reality television series that originally aired from October 23, 2000 to October 29, 2006. The program was produced by Triage Entertainment for the Fox Family Channel, which is now ABC Family and owns the rights to the show...

 featured Greyfriars Cemetery.

Notable burials

  • James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
    James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
    James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...

     (d.1581), Regent of Scotland
  • George Buchanan
    George Buchanan (humanist)
    George Buchanan was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. He was part of the Monarchomach movement.-Early life:...

     (d.1582), historian and reformer
  • Alexander Henderson
    Alexander Henderson (theologian)
    Alexander Henderson was a Scottish theologian, and an important ecclesiastical statesman of his period. He is considered the second founder of the Reformed Church in Scotland, and its Presbyterian churches are largely indebted to him for the forms of their dogmas and organization.-Life:He was born...

     (d.1646), churchman and statesman
  • John Mylne (1611–1667), mason and architect
  • Sir George Mackenzie
    George Mackenzie (lawyer)
    Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...

     (1636–1691), Lord Advocate
  • Mary Erskine
    Mary Erskine
    Mary Erskine was a Scottish businesswoman and philanthropist, who donated money to set up the girls' school which is now known as The Mary Erskine School.-Biography:...

     (1629–1708), founder of The Mary Erskine School
    The Mary Erskine School
    The Mary Erskine School, popularly known simply as "Mary Erskine's" or "MES" for short, paired with the all boys school Stewart's Melville College is an all girls independent secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland...

  • Archibald Pitcairne
    Archibald Pitcairne
    Archibald Pitcairne was a Scottish physician.- Early life :Pitcairne was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. After obtaining some classical education at the school of Dalkeith, Pitcairne entered Edinburgh University in 1668, and took his degree of MA in 1671...

     (1652–1713), physician
  • William Carstares
    William Carstares
    William Carstares , a minister of the Church of Scotland, was born at Cathcart, near Glasgow, Scotland.He was the son of the Rev John Carstares, a member of the Covenanting party of Protestors...

     (1649–1715), churchman and statesman
  • George Watson
    George Watson (accountant)
    George Watson, was born in Scotland to parents John Watson and Marion Ewing. He was orphaned at an early age, but thanks to his aunt, Elizabeth Davidson, he was sent in 1672 to be educated in book-keeping at Rotterdam. He returned to Edinburgh to become, in 1676, private secretary to Sir James Dick...

     (1654–1723), accountant and founder of George Watson's College
    George Watson's College
    George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...

  • Colonel Francis Charteris (1675-1732), notorious rake and member of the "Hell-fire" club
  • Captain John Porteous
    Captain John Porteous
    Captain John Porteous, was a Scottish soldier, Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh .-Early life:John Porteous was born at The Glen, Quair Water, near Traquair, in the Borders, the son of Stephen Porteous, a tailor of the Canongate, Edinburgh. Little is known of his early life, except that he...

     (c.1695–1736), soldier and lynching victim
  • Colin MacLaurin
    Colin Maclaurin
    Colin Maclaurin was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. The Maclaurin series, a special case of the Taylor series, are named after him....

     (1698–1746), mathematician
  • Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden (1685 – 1747), politician and judge.
  • William Adam (1689–1748), architect
  • Thomas Ruddiman
    Thomas Ruddiman
    Thomas Ruddiman was a Scottish classical scholar.-Life:He was born at Raggal, Banffshire, where his father was a farmer, and educated at the University of Aberdeen. Through the influence of Dr Archibald Pitcairne he became an assistant in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh...

     (1674–1757), classical scholar and grammarian
  • Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), poet
  • William Robertson D.D.
    William Robertson (historian)
    William Robertson FRSE FSA was a Scottish historian, minister of religion, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh...

     (1721–1793), historian
  • James Craig
    James Craig (architect)
    James Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...

     (1739–1795), architect and designer of Edinburgh's New Town
  • James Hutton
    James Hutton
    James Hutton was a Scottish physician, geologist, naturalist, chemical manufacturer and experimental agriculturalist. He is considered the father of modern geology...

     (1726–1797), geologist
  • Joseph Black
    Joseph Black
    Joseph Black FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was professor of Medicine at University of Glasgow . James Watt, who was appointed as philosophical instrument maker at the same university...

     (1728–1799), physician
  • Duncan Ban MacIntyre
    Duncan Bàn MacIntyre
    Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir is one of the most renowned of Scottish Gaelic poets and formed an integral part of one of the golden ages of Gaelic poetry in Scotland during the 18th century...

     (1724–1812), Gaelic poet
  • William Creech
    William Creech
    William Creech was a Scottish bookseller.For 40 years Creech was the chief publisher in Edinburgh. He published the first Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns' poems....

     (1745–1815), bookseller
  • Henry Mackenzie
    Henry Mackenzie
    Henry Mackenzie was a Scottish novelist and miscellaneous writer. He was also known by the sobriquet "Addison of the North."-Biography:Mackenzie was born in Edinburgh....

     (1745–1831), writer and author of The Man of Feeling
    The Man of Feeling
    The Man of Feeling is a sentimental novel published in 1771, written by Scottish author Henry Mackenzie. The novel presents a series of moral vignettes which the naïve protagonist Harley either observes, is told about, or participates in...

  • Thomas McCrie
    Thomas M'Crie the Elder
    Thomas M'Crie was a Scottish historian, writer, and preacher born in the town of Duns in November 1772. He was the eldest of a family of four sons and three daughters...

     (1772–1835), historian
  • Major General William Farquhar
    William Farquhar
    Major-General William Farquhar was an employee of the East India Company, and the first Resident of colonial Singapore.-Early life:Farquhar was born at Newhall, Aberdeenshire, near Aberdeen in 1774, and joined the East India Company as a cadet when he was 17...

    , (c.1770–1839) 1st Resident of Singapore
  • William McGonagall (1825–1902), poet (unmarked grave)

External links

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