I’m one among many ‘regulars’ at New Calton Burial Ground (link) – the steep central footpath of which is frequently my route on foot to St Andrew’s House bus stop, Edinburgh Station and to shopping, Princes Street Gardens and the many other delights of Edinburgh City Centre. And today I want to observe that this cemetery is a place full of life!
The oft-seen tombstone inscription Memento Mori – a call to remember the inevitability of death – succinctly encourages wonderers and wanderers to live life fully and well in the meantime. Locus iste – ‘this place,’ this well-lived life, hic domus Dei est et porta caeli – is surely ‘the home of God and the gate of heaven.’
Here lie the mortal remains of architects, authors, builders, clerics, craftsmen and engineers, medics, masons, statesmen, surgeons, tanners, ‘writers to the signet’ (later evolving into what we know as lawyers), parents, children, ‘high and low;’ and many of the tombs look like little roofless houses with lockable iron gates, originally overseen by watchmen of the tower – to curb the enthusiasms of grave robbers intent on supplying the nearby medical school, ‘without whom’ …
And all who come here are treated to a view of fabulously ever-changing sky, the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse, one of the city’s first gas lamps, the modern Scottish Parliament buildings, and the remains of an extinct volcano that last erupted around 350 million years ago – which is to say, they encounter a living history lesson of huge proportions, supporting the growth of well-kempt lawns and flowers, together with literally thousands of opportunities to delve into history and research, all the while contemplating bustling modern life in Edinburgh today – on the way to buy groceries.
James Spence, Writer to the Signet, 1818
Memento Mori and a representation of human skull and bones in (unusual) naive art: ‘The Burrying Place of Jas. Strachan, Tanner’
The tomb of Alexander Henderson, Merchant – with a now open gate
The Palace of Holyroodhouse (left), Arthur’s Seat, the Scottish Parliament Buildings, and Salisbury Crags (right)
And then ‘home by another way’ for me today. Walking past the Scottish Poetry Library there’s another invitation to pause, in pavement chalk:
Living in tomorrow or perhaps yesterday
Or perhaps not in time, but not today
Here there were only three days in the week
And twenty minutes were a full hour
John Cornford
What is so full of life about this city, ancient and modern, is her perpetual invitation to remember, to dig deeper, to know a bit about the root and origins of many things, to stand on the shoulders of giants, to prick up one’s ears to the sound of distant bagpipes on the wind, and to thrive.
wind in my wheels 🌱 
Wow, Simon, what an absolutely fabulous post! I can feel the energy and amazing history in this city coursing through every line. That cemetery…wow! Feel like one could spend an afternoon there and have but scratched the surface. Ohhh, how I long to explore this place. In the meantime, I thank you for the wonderful ‘virtual tours.’ 🥰 xx
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… and I thank you, as always, Lori, for your kind encouragement. Perhaps we should first meet somewhere else in the city when you come – ‘I’ll see you in the cemetery’ doesn’t fit well! But New Calton would certainly be a priority visit. I’m transported to other realms, times and places every time I walk past the family vault of Robert Louis Stevenson! 💞xx
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Laughing…you make a good point. That said, I understand the persistence pull of history has an undeniable allure. ☺️ xx
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Absolutely – our own, as well as the histories of our families, friends and forebears. My breath is taken away when I try to comprehend the scale of a volcano erupting here 350 million years ago, all the way to the founding of a world-renowned university and a relatively small city that has made such a big impact on – given so much to the wider world. Though humankind hasn’t been around for very long, small as we are, we are apparently quite significant in the unfolding of (innumerable) things … 😊🌱✨xx
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I delight in your exchanges with Lori, and they cover much of what I’m thinking when reading your post. Cherish these moments in between larger moments. – for they show us all that deserve gearing witness – to beauty, to life, to wonder….xxx
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I do too, dear Mimi. And yes, you’ve absolutely nailed it (& probably the reason for our long-maintained friendship since I first heard the karma truck rumble) … to ‘cherish’ is life’s connection, education, purpose and joy 💞🌱🙂xx
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