St.Andrews Cross on a grave

[IJDisney]

Would a St.Andrews Cross on a gravestone indicate the buried person's religion, or a Scottish connection? I'm researching someone who came from Sussex with no known Scottish forebears, but was buried with a huge St.Andrews Cross above his gravestone.




Copyright image removed

[cemetery friends]

There could be a Scottish connection although quite possible that a family had observed the design on another grave elsewhere. Most of the larger firms od monumental masons worked from catalogues displaying angels, crosses, poems and quotations so just as likely that somebody took a fancy to a particular design.

[KGarrad]

Is this actually a St Andrews Cross (white saltire cross on blue background), or is it simply a saltire cross of unknown colours?

For example, Fitzgerald has a red saltire on a white background.

[Rena]

What occupation did the ancestor have?  St Andrew was the patron saint of fishermen who, just like Jesus was crucified but died tied to an X shaped cross.

Another reason for the headstone could be that he was a devout churchgoer, maybe an elder of the church who could be classed as a disciple of Jesus just like St. Andrew.

[IJDisney]

Thank you for your replies. The man in question was a builder. The cross stands on top of his gravestone and is a three dimensional structure made from stone but replicating two logs of wood crossed in a Andrews Cross design. He/his wife has no known connection with Scotland or the Presbyterian Church. I can only imagine it was a 'pretty design' selected by whoever paid for the gravestone.

[apanderson]

Does the cross you mention look anything like this photo? If so, it is quite a common design.

Anne

[IJDisney]

It looks like this