In Scotland, we are lucky to be surrounded by our past, by sites and monuments each telling their own unique stories. Our old graveyards are full of information about ordinary Scots who lived centuries ago. We can learn what sorts of jobs they did, what sorts of lives they had, and sometimes we can even see what the fashions of the day were!

Upright gravestones of the sort we know today first appeared in Scotland around 1640. These were smaller than the traditional flat graveslabs used in the Middle Ages. As this new upright style was cheaper, more ordinary people could afford to have a gravestone set up for themselves and their families.

Click on an image to view the full-size version. Prints of all images can be obtained by contacting RCAHMS directly at info@rcahms.gov.uk quoting the name of the site or building, the SC number, the size and nature of each image required. A price list of services for photographs, digital images and other copies can be found under the price list page.

Symbols had been carved on gravestones since the Middle Ages. These represented the beliefs of the time: winged angels or cherubs represented the soul rising toward heaven, skulls, cross-bones and hourglasses reminded people that this mortal life was short.

In addition, biblical scenes expressed a range of ideas such as the Resurrection, strict adherence to the Word of God, or the sinfulness of Man. Beside these overtly Christian symbols others from folklore and tradition also appear, notably the Green Man.

A mysterious and sometimes monstrous figure, he is considered to be a symbol of renewal and regeneration of life, a metaphor for the immortal soul living on in heaven after the passing of mortal life, just as trees will sprout leaves in Spring after seeming dead and lifeless.

Winged Death, Roberton Parish Church, South Lanarkshire
Winged death bears a gruesome cargo, a bag filled with bones, a vivid metaphor for death, and for the speed of its approach.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Drawing depicting common emblems of mortality found on 17th/18th century gravestones.
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© T. Asquith-Lamb

King of Terrors, Old Crailing, Scottish Borders
The figure of Death was often portrayed on gravestones, sometimes as a skeleton wielding a dart or arrow and attacking an individual, symbolizing sudden death, or as the reaper with his scythe, representing the harvesting of souls. Around him are traditional emblems of death and mortality, the gravedigger's spades, the 'deid bell' which tolled for funerals, and an hourglass for to symbolize human mortality.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Edinburgh, Candlemaker Row, Greyfriars churchyard. Detail of 2 green men from John Milne's monument.
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© T. Asquith-Lamb

'Adam and Eve' stone, Polmont Old Church, Falkirk.
The Fall of Man, the eating of the Forbidden Fruit, was a popular emblem in 17th and 18th century Scotland, with its symbolism of original sin and temptation, serving as a reminder of the price paid by Adam and Eve for their disobedience. Fittingly, this is the gravestone of a gardener, indicated by the rake, pruning knife and scythe.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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'The Bowden Skull', Bowden churchyard, Scottish Borders.
Winged death adorns the rear face of this gravestone, a graphic symbol of mortality and the swiftness of death's approach. The 'Memento Mori' legend ('Remember you must die') echoes this grim sentiment. Like the Janet Liwd portrait headstone, this memorial shows a high degree of craftsmanship, and may have been cut by the same stonemason.
(SC685201) © T. Asquith-Lamb

In addition, ordinary people would often add symbols to show what they did for a living. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, craftsmen often belonged to bodies known as Trades Incorporations, powerful organisations that represented and controlled the interests of their members in the towns and cities of Scotland.

People were proud to be members of these organisations, and would use their emblems on family gravestones. Often these emblems were used the everyday tools of their trade, a blacksmith's hammer and anvil, a loaf of bread for a baker or the mill-wheel to represent a miller.

Large towns and cities like Edinburgh or Aberdeen would have had several different Incorporations, such as the Hammermen, the Glovers, and the Weavers. Some of the tools found carved on gravestones are no longer used today, but examples can be found in museums across Scotland.

Gravestone commemorating Arthur Fulton, Kirkmichael Parish Church, South Ayrshire
A tall angel at the centre of the group probably represents the miller's soul in heaven. At his feet, a bone signifies the soul's life after death. To his left is a mill-wheel to show that in life he had been a miller.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Gravestone commemorating Andrew Kippen, Glover, Greyfriars Churchyard, Perth.
Gloves on stretchers and a pair of shears symbolise the glover's trade to which Andrew Kippen and his father belonged. Above these emblems are a pair of leather breeches and a pair of Morris-dancing bells, items traditionally associated with the glovers of Perth.
Perhaps this relates to the piece of work each apprentice glover had to produce before he could become a glover in his own right. This would have been carefully assessed for its workmanship and quality. One suggestion is that the apprentices made leather breeches as their 'masterpiece'.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Detail of a tablestone commemorating Thomas Sommerville, schoolmaster, Newton churchyard, Midlothian.
Sitting on his high-backed chair, the schoolmaster reads from an open book, gesturing enthusiastically to his pupils. Although an Act in 1696 obliged every parish in Scotland to employ a schoolmaster, there are few known memorials to schoolmasters. Poor salaries often meant that university students, or even the Minister himself, had to fill in as the local schoolmaster.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Montrose, Old Church and burial ground, Angus.
1801, Alex Laing. Sheaf of wheat with crossed peels. Inscription flanked by twin portrait busts.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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Greyfriars burial ground, Perth, Perth and Kinross.
1785, William Clement. Winged soul, shield containing hand, press and tongs.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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A range of portraits can be found on gravestones in Scotland. Some show tradesmen at work, like the weaver John Irons at his loom. Others are finely detailed pieces, such as Janet Liwd or the young gentleman at Garvald parish church.

The origins of this practice are unclear; perhaps people copied old medieval effigies where they survived. Perhaps there is a link to the practice of making 'death masks', and the idea was transferred to the headstone, or perhaps relatives and friends wished to have a likeness of their loved ones for others to see.

Full-figure and half-figure portraits such as Janet Liwd's headstone appear to be more common in the Scottish Borders (Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, Berwickshire). This was possibly a local tradition of which nothing is remembered today.

Gravestone of Janet Liwd, Bowden churchyard, Scottish Borders.
Carved in relief, this portrait is probably that of Janet Liwd, the daughter of a local tenant farmer. According to the inscription on this gravestone, Janet died in 1712 aged 10. Several stones within Bowden churchyard show a similarly high standard of craftsmanship, probably the work of a single skilled stonemason active in this area in the mid 18th century.
(SC685198) © T. Asquith-Lamb

Detail of a mural monument, Garvald churchyard, East Lothian.
Captured in a thoughtful pose, the portrait-bust fills the monument's pediment. Obviously a man of means, this young gentleman wears an elegant coat with large cuffs, and his flowing hair is neatly curled. In his hand is a skull, a metaphor for death. Unfortunately the epitaph below has weathered away and is illegible.
Betty Willsher Collection.
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With the growth of medical teaching in the 18th century, universities required ever-greater numbers of cadavers for study, often purchased illegally from resurrectionists. Across Scotland, parishes used mort-safes and watch-houses to protect new graves from the body-snatchers.

Watch-houses can often be found at the edges of old churchyards across Scotland, and today are often used as storage or now stand in disrepair. However in the 18th and early 19th century, members of the parish were required to take turns in the watch-house. Watch-houses are usually small structures, and most had a small grate inside so the watchers could at least keep warm during the long wintry nights, though few parishioners can have relished this particular duty. However, in larger towns and cities it is not uncommon to find much grander buildings guarding the churchyards and burial grounds. In 1820, a circular watch-tower was built at Old Calton burial ground (right).

In Bo'ness, it is recorded that the more enterprising in the parish made a profession of watching, at the rate of a shilling per night. Often the watchers were supplied with food and drink for their supper, and it was not uncommon for those about early in the morning to find the watchers suffering from over-indulgence the previous evening.

Mort-safes varied enormously in design, though the basic idea was to physically prevent body-snatchers from obtaining the cadaver. Often they took the form of an iron-grille that was placed over the grave. Being extraordinarily heavy, it prevented anyone from digging up the recently buried coffin. Others took the form of a cast-iron 'over-coffin', into which the wooden casket was placed, and then buried. This could then be retrieved after a suitable period of time had elapsed.

Given the weight of most mort-safes, lowering them into place would have been heavy work and likely required the use of special mort-safe tackle. This would have been secured to the mort-safe, and using ropes or chains lowered to the ground using a large tripod.

In 1832 an Act was passed by Parliament allowing people to leave their bodies to medical science, effectively providing medical schools with sufficient cadavers for experimentation and teaching purposes. However, as the Act probably took time to have an effect, many parishes across Scotland continued to use their mortsafes, and even order new ones.

Ultimately, the practice of body-snatching died out, and mortsafes and watch-houses were no longer required. Most mortsafes were probably sold off for scrap iron, and few examples can be found today.

For further information about old gravestones, contact us, your local museum service, library or local history group.

Within our extensive collections, there is material for almost 1000 of Scotland's graveyards and RCAHMS actively seeks to add to this. One of the most significant collections is that of Betty Willsher, a pioneer in the field of graveyard survey.

Material can be consulted in the public search room which is open to the public from Monday to Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm. Enquiries can also be made by contacting us directly, or through the Canmore database.

Susan Buckham, the Carved Stones Advisor at the Council for Scottish Archaeology, can help with queries about conserving, recording and managing all types of carved stones, with particular emphasis on gravestones and graveyards. She can also provide guidance on recording graveyards in your area. Contact Susan Buckham at the Council for Scottish Archaeology, c/o National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. Tel: +44 (0)131 247 4119