Martyrs' Monument, Woodside Cemetery

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 11 Jul 2011

The memorial is beside the Image (built in 1835), part of which can be seen on the right. This is not the only martyrs' monument in the cemetery; another one commemorates those executed after the Radical War of 1820: Image However, the one shown in the present photograph is related to events of an earlier period: "Here lie the corpses of James Algie and John Park, who suffered at the cross of Paisley for refusing the Oath of Abjuration, February 3 1685." (In such a context, "the cross of ..." refers to the mercat cross of a town or city; compare the inscription on the Image) By this time, the oath was being taken from house to house; the penalty for refusing to take it was death (generally on the spot, and often in front of the victim's family). See Gordon Brown's article, "The Killing Times": http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Killing-Times Following their execution, James Algie and John Park were originally interred at Image, but their remains were moved here in 1779. The monument itself was erected in 1835. On its far side is a recumbent slab, apparently the one that was originally set over their graves in the Gallowgreen (see Image). Visible at the foot of the monument, on its near side, is an information panel, which gives the text of the inscriptions (those on the monument are badly worn; see, for example, Image).

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