Old cemetery (Larbert)

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Dawson Mausoleum

The Old Cemetery of Larbert is a cemetery in the Scottish town of Larbert in the Falkirk Council Area . In 1977 the structure was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the highest category A. The associated parish church is separately listed. The James Bruce Monument in the cemetery is also classified as a Scheduled Monument . Previously it was separately protected as a Listed Building , but is now included in the monument protection of the cemetery.

history

The oldest gravestones in the cemetery date from the 17th century, which means that the cemetery is earlier than the current church (built in 1820). The irregular floor plan suggests that the complex has been expanded several times over the centuries. The oldest graves are on the east side, near the church. In 1759, the Carron Ironworks opened in Larbert , the oldest ironworks in Scotland to use coke instead of coal, making the city rapidly growing and prosperous at the time. The numerous elaborately designed graves from the early and mid-19th century can be traced back to this.

description

The cemetery is on the southwest edge of Larbert. Numerous graves are decorated with elaborately ornamented tombstones. There are also some cast iron tombs. Although there was an ironworks on site with the Carron Ironworks, most of them were manufactured in the Sun Foundry , which specialized in tombs. Most of them date from the second half of the 19th century and consist of a tombstone set in an ornamented, cast iron frame. Such gravestones are relatively rare and such a large number in a single cemetery is remarkable.

The Dawson Mausoleum and the Bruce Monument are to be highlighted as individual grave structures . The Dawson Mausoleum is a structure designed with architraves and Doric columns. The Bruce Monument was built by James Bruce in memory of his wife. Bruce was a local landlord and the first European to go to the sources of the Blue Nile . The cast iron monument comes from the Carron Ironworks and could have been designed after a design by William Haworth . The architect John Adam was a partner in the ironworks at the time and Adam's stylistic features are recognizable. Robert Burns mentioned the monument in one of his travelogues. A stele that ends with an urn is also worth mentioning . It adorns the grave of Joseph Stainton , the third head of the ironworks. Also the cast iron obelisk on the tomb of Joseph and Elizabeth Smith .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Web links

Coordinates: 56 ° 1 '8.9 "  N , 3 ° 50' 17"  W.