Ashaig, Isle of Skye, Scotland
I am known to be found in peculiar places. Most recently, I took a trip to London and up to Inverness, Scotland, and frolicked about in several cemeteries and ancient burial grounds. There is something about these places that draws me in and transports me far away from the current events of the day. Cemeteries and ancient burial grounds symbolize a finished product; each monument is stamped with a birth date, a death date, and words to sum up a life one lived—the last resting place for the weary.
I have been visiting cemeteries since I was a child. Growing up on Aquidneck Island, RI, there are many public cemeteries and several ancient burial grounds tucked away on family plots or deep in the fields around the island. As I remember them, these gems were surrounded by hand-placed stone walls that now dip and fold under the settled ground. Each one had its own personality along with those who now reside within the walls. There was a small family cemetery down the street from our house that I frequented quite often with my two sisters, and then alone. I eventually shared the sacred place with a few of my closest friends. To get there, I had to walk down a long dirt road and through several open fields, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean below. Once there, I had to scale over a tall stone wall that surrounded the family burial ground as there was no gate, just four walls surrounding the interned. Once inside its walls, it was like I had passed into another world of enchantment. The stones were dated as far back as the 1600s. Some of the monuments stood vertically while other larger slabs lay on the ground; each naming its occupant. The stones were embellished with funerary art common for the time. It is rumored that the sister of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, was buried there. Each visit was like going back in time, visiting old friends. Passing my hands over the letters, I would read and reread each stone hoping to discover a new clue about who they were and their relation to the others around them, placing husband with wife, child with mother. I felt a sense of privilege to be there and most honored to witness their existence when most had forgotten. From then on, cemeteries have become a special place for me to visit. From then on, I have sought out these long-forgotten and infrequently resting places, creating space for memories not of my own, but a privilege just the same.
Highgate Cemetery, London, England
My most recent cemetery visits were in London, Inverness, and the Isle of Skye. Highgate Cemetery, in the northern part of London, was like nothing I had seen. Its grounds are divided in two sections and are layered with approximately 170,000 graves, each with its own personality. Some of the monuments are enormous and elaborate in style, while others are quite simple in design. Unfortunately, the cemetery fell under hard times and was not well maintained so many of the stones have collapsed and the grounds are too overgrown to maneuver through, but it remains an extraordinary place. Today, it is more than just a cemetery, but “a sanctuary for heritage, nature and community”.
Blackfriars Burial Ground, Inverness, Scotland
Inverness, Scotland has two very old burial grounds right in the middle of the city. On a chilly and drizzly day, I took to the cobblestone streets to find them. The first one was the Blackfriars Burial Ground. It is a very small cemetery on what stood the original friary founded in 1233. Imagine the history I was standing on! The friary is long gone, but what remains is the last remaining pillar of its medieval structure and a very unusual grave slab of a knight in armor believed to be Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, who died in 1435. What an incredible sight that was.
Old High Church Burial Ground, Inverness, Scotland
The second Inverness cemetery I passed through was in the Old High Churchyard, on the grounds of the oldest church in Inverness, dating back to the 6th century. This cemetery sits on a low hill with breathtaking views of the River Ness and is on the grounds of the oldest church in Inverness. But don’t be fooled by its picturesque views. This was a place fueled with political atrocities carried out by the English against the Jacobite army. The cemetery became the execution grounds of Jacobite soldier prisoners after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. It is said that soldiers too weak to stand were propped against already placed gravestones so that their executioner could take aim. These gravestones still stand today. The church tower holds the marks of musket balls from these executions. To stand on the ground of such acts was sobering, to say the least, and I left feeling exhausted and deeply affected.
Ashaig Cemetery, Isle of Skye, Scotland
The final burial ground I walked through was on the Isle of Skye at the Ashaig Cemetery. This is not a particularly old cemetery, but an amazing one all the same. The views are outstanding, overlooking the Inner Sound which leads out to the North Sea. Historically, this is the final resting place of 17 souls who were washed ashore after the tragic 1942 sinking of the HMS Curacoa that was accidentally rammed by the RMS Queen Mary. The tidy and well-maintained cemetery is nestled within a mossy stone wall area and displays classic Celtic crosses, and tall monuments overlooking the shore. This was a place I literally did not want to leave.
One can learn so much when one ventures into the gates of a cemetery. I like to think that each time I go to a burial ground, I am present for, and connect with those who once walked among us. It’s the least that I can do, to remember them today and carry on the essence of a life lived.
Do you have a special cemetery that you frequent?
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