Tombstone Tuesday: St Cuthberts Cemetery Edinburgh

One of my favourite things to do when I visit Edinburgh each year is to wander around the old cemeteries. I try to pick ones I have not yet wandered through so that the history of the cemetery is new to me each time. Although I must admit, a trip to Edinburgh wouldn't feel complete without a wander through Greyfriars. It has become an annual pilgrimage. And my preference now it to take the guided tour offered by Historic Edinburgh Tours where I can learn the stories behind the people interred. 

One cemetery I have wanted to wander through for some years now is St Cuthberts. My initial fascination with St Cuthberts was my first sighting of the guard tower, watching over the burial sites and protecting them from the notorious grave robbers and body snatchers. 

St Cuthberts is on Princes Street at the far end of the West Gardens. It takes in an amazing expanse of land and while situated on the very busy Princes St, it is surprisingly tranquil. 

Like most of the old cemeteries in Edinburgh, St Cuthberts is the final resting place of some of the elite in Scotland's history. 

I am always in awe, as I wander amongst the headstones, of the wealth of genealogical information that can be gleaned from the old headstones. In the days when paying tribute was the most important part of a headstone and estates and families weren't charged per letter or per word: