Sea-farers' graves in Holyrood Graveyard
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Sea-farers' graves in Holyrood Graveyard by Mary and Angus Hogg as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Sea-farers' graves in Holyrood Graveyard
Image: © Mary and Angus Hogg Taken: 24 Aug 2019
These 2 stones belonging to the Stephen family show the risks faced by sailors. The left-hand stone was erected by Robert Stephen, shipmaster of Newborough, in memory of his wife and family. His daughter, Margaret, died in 1835 aged 4 years, while his three sons were all drowned at sea in 1860 and 1869, aged 23, 17 and 25 years. This stone shows carved symbols which are appropriate for a seafaring family, including the sun and moon, the Pole Star, several smaller stars and some navigation aids. Religious symbols include an open bible, a deid bell and a coffin on its side, thought to portray untimely deaths. The other stone remembers shipmaster William Stephen. All of this family lived into their 70s or 80s. Image gives more information about the burial ground.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
57.321675
Longitude
-1.999984