Fact Sheets - Memorials

Fact sheets
Taking a closer look at….
Memorials
It is suggested that one or two the following fact sheets are printed out
and used as wall or poster displays or laminate and make available for
students
The Fact sheets in this set include
1. What to look for on a headstone: A stele is….
2. Headstone design: Stele come in many shapes and sizes.
3. Headstone design: Crosses come in many forms.
4. Headstone design: Pedestals.
5. Why headstones are so different!
Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone
A Stele is…
1
a one-sided, upright, headstone
1
Most headstones have a decoration or ornament that has meaning for the
living and the deceased. This stele has a wreath. The circle shape of the
wreath represents eternity and memory.
2
This stone inserted into the headstone is the ledger and contains the
inscription or epitaph.
3
The inscription or epitaph usually begins with the words “Sacred to the
memory of” or “In loving Memory of”.
2
3
Inscriptions will usually include date of death and age at death.
Sometimes inscriptions will include other information such as an accidental
death, personʼs occupation, affiliations or war involvement.
Not all the names listed on an inscription will be buried here. Samuel
Gourley was killed in the South African War in 1900.
Many family members are frequently shown on the inscription.
4
4
The base stone is called the plinth and protects the more expensive
headstone material from ground moisture. Some headstones have several
plinths.
Introducing the cemetery: Headstone design
1
2
3
Stelae
come in many shapes and sizes
Stelae are a traditional form of memorial and were popular in parish
churchyards in Great Britain and Ireland. They can be found in many
shapes and sizes from rectangular with domed, arched, pointed or
curved tops and are of an even thickness. They were generally
erected upright. Most stelae are made of granite, marble or Oamaru
stone and inscriptions are completed with incised lettering or lead
lettering in marble stones. Some granite stones have incised lettering
accented with gold or silver leaf.
5
4
1
6
Gabled stele
2 Rectangular stele
3
Gothic shaped stele with side
pillars
4
Gothic shaped stele with niche
5 Stylised domed stele
6 Arched stele (Chinese)
Ancient Egyptian funerary stele,
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Introducing the cemetery: Headstone design
1
Crosses
3
come in many forms
2
Crosses can be found in many varieties. The most common designs
found in our cemeteries are the Latin Cross which is a plain form
representing the Cross on which Christ died, and the Celtic cross
which has a circular shape at the intersection of the bars. Other forms
of the cross are also represented. Crosses can be erected as statues
or they can be incised or carved into the memorial design.
1
6
Latin cross
2 Celtic Cross
3 Gabled stele with stylised cross
pattee (Templar Cross) surmount.
4
4 Gabled stele with stylised cross
5 Glory cross (with sunʼs rays)
6 Stylised trinity cross
7 Orthodox or Russian Cross
5
7
Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone.
Pedestals
2
The advantage of a pedestal monument was that it offered
a number of sides on which inscriptions could be made.
3
Pedestal styles were adapted from ancient Roman
monuments similar to those found at Pompeii.
Pedestals generally had flat sides, and could be topped by
a column, obelisk, urn or statuary such as an angel.
1
Obelisk
2
Broken Column
3
Pedestal topped by an Urn
4
Pedestal topped by statuary
When reading inscriptions on pedestal monuments be
careful you check all four sides for information. Often loved
family members who died overseas were commemorated
on the sides of these pedestals.
1
4
Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone.
Slabs and
Tablets
Stone and cement slabs set directly into the ground or
sometimes into a base course could not exceed 6 inches
above the ground. Kerbing was permitted, as was the
inscription of the family name into the foot or headstone.
Many slabs were embellished with corner stones or
pebbles, others were turfed within the curbing and planted.
A variety of slabs and tablets from the Northern
and Southern cemeteries
Introducing the cemetery:
Why headstones are so different?
In Victorian and Edwardian times, a familyʼs financial status and standing in
the community dictated the extent of grave ornamentation. In death, the
lasting memorial to a person could convey his or her aspirations, even if they
were not fully realised in life. Many early memorials in the Northern Cemetery
are grand statements but as time moved on a more egalitarian approach to
life, the high ideals of 19th century cemetery philosophy faded and simplicity
pervaded the economy and scale of the monuments. (Betteridge 2005)
2
1
1
The cemetery regulations specified that only purchasers of Class I plots
could exercise the privilege of “erecting headstones or other
monuments.” The tall obelisk pictured is an example of a Class 1 plot.
3a
While those with class II plots were permitted to have a flat stone laid
horizontally with an inscription or marked out by corner stones with
initials and figures. The surname plaque pictured is an example of a Class II
plot. Many Class II plots never had memorials, of any kind, erected. Class III
plots were often in inaccessible parts of the cemetery. The cost of the plots
were,
2
Child
Adult
1st Class
£3.0.0
£3.0.0
2nd Class
£2.17.6
£2. 7. 6
3rd class
12.6
£1.2.6
3b
3
Later headstones became much more simple in design as the two
examples numbered 3a and 3b show.
In Area 5 students will come across all types of headstones. There is usually
much less information on later headstones, which requires investigation of
online cemetery records to find out more.