Dolphinton Graveyard

This is Blackmount Parish Church (still in service) in Dolphinton, a very small place just to the south of West Linton. Strangely enough I hadn't been there to date and as I needed an Artist Date as well as a bit of fresh air I paid my first visit. It was a very wind blown day and I didn't have all that much time to linger but there were some remarkable graves to be seen.

Probably the most beautiful gravestone was the one above, which has it all, skull at the top, trade symbols (set square and compass), winged angel and the theatre of life, just about still visible (with beautiful flowing curtains). A set of one of the most beautiful and delicate pillars I've seen so far, both topped with smiling female faces, as seen below.

And here is a very close-up detail of the gravestone above. It's also my blip for today. A very happy looking face with gorgeous hair-do, on top of the lovely pillar. Just looking at her made me smile too.

There are some very old gravestones to be seen, most at a precarious angle although I have to say this graveyard is very well maintained and in very good condition compared with some I have seen. The gravestone above dates back to 1762. Elizabeth Bannantine was buried there at that time, aged 43,

And finally this is the main claim to fame in this graveyard. There is only the plaque on the wall of the church to commemorate this fact and no indication anywhere in the graveyard just exactly where this grave is located. Many of the very old 17th Century gravestones are on their way back into the earth so it could well be one of them. You can find out more about the Scottish Covenanter Memorial Organization here, but be prepared, it's a convoluted tale of violence and religious differences here in Scotland the results of which are still felt even to the present day.

All the information about Joseph Learmont and this particular memorial is here.