Old Calton Cemetery

Overshadowed by Calton Hill, one of Edinburgh's most famous landmarks, Old Calton Cemetery should be on everyone's "must visit" list if they find themselves in this wonderful city. Wandering amongst the monuments and gravestones, you are immediately surrounded by the very essence of the capital's history. Opened in 1718, the graveyard boasts the final resting place of many notable Edinburgh folk - merchants, tradesmen, writers, philosophers, members of the clergy, and many, many more. Extended in 1767, it became divided in 1818 by the construction of Waterloo Place, and both areas are well worth exploring. The larger area lies to the south of Waterloo Place, and encompasses a number of interesting and almost majestic memorials. Feast your eyes upon the commanding Scottish-American Soldiers Monument, or Emancipation Monument. A bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln rises above a grateful freed slave who clasps a book in one hand, indicating not only that he has gained his liberty but also that he is now educated. A bronze shield bears the old United States flag, and is wreathed in cotton to the right hand side and thistles to the left. Two regimental flags lay furled, symbolic of the battle being over. Erected at American expense, it pays tribute to a small group of Scotsmen who had taken up arms for the Union during the American Civil War.   

Clearly visible from many Edinburgh viewpoints, and maybe the focal point of the cemetery, is the huge obelisk that is the Political Martyrs Monument. Designed by Thomas Hamilton, it commemorates five political martyrs, members of the Friends of the People, who were brought to trial, found guilty, and deported to Botany Bay for treason. And their crime? Attempting to correspond with the French. More literally? Striving for universal suffrage and the rights of the common man to control his own destiny. Known as the Chartist Martyrs, they were sentenced on 30th August 1793, although later pardoned in 1838. To a lassie from Dorset, this very much brought to mind our very own Tolpuddle Martyrs, brave men again fighting for the rights of others.
There is so much to see, so much to take in as you peruse the many gravestones. The lives of so many former residents of Edinburgh laid bare - when they were born, when they died, how they made their mark on history albeit often in some small way. The weather is taking its toll on some of the stones, erasing the stories of those buried beneath, leaving our imaginations to unravel their secrets and guess at their colourful lives. So quiet, so peaceful, you sit upon the steps and cast your eyes upon the past of this noble city. If only these gravestones could talk, these chiselled mouths speak for just a moment, oh what tales they would tell, what adventures they could relate.

   

Many folk pass graveyards without a second glance. Sombre places, full of the dead, places inhabited by those with a morbid curiosity. But they are not. They are alive with history, our past laid out before us, the names of our ancestors carved out in timeless fashion, held within the stone until wind and rain banish them to the depths of our memories. Graveyards have always been a source of inspiration to me, a place to wander in quiet contemplation. But every now and them, I come across something that completely baffles me. Why, in Old Calton Cemetery are there so many socks! On the day of my last visit, there they were - on the gravestones, behind the gravestones, hanging from the railings. Is this all part of some bizarre ritual that has passed me by, slipped off my radar? Is there a great sock hunt going on that I am unaware of? Or do the ghosts that frequent the graveyard suffer from cold feet? So many possibilities, I guess, but so few answers ..........