Spooky Gravestone Markings

[maggiefishblue]

Hi,

There is a gravestone with skull and crossbones at Hinckley, Leics. - I was told it signified a victim of the plague.  There only seems to be one like it in the graveyard - and that seems unlikely that if there was an outbreak of the plague only one person would fall victim.  If it was only one victim - unlucky or what 

As a child, I liked to imagine it was a pirate's gravestone - although Hinckley is approximately 100 miles from the sea 

Maggie

PS I've enjoyed reading the info on this thread and agree entirely with Andrew about the need to preserve gravestones.

[kerryb]

Maggie, the ones I saw are unlikely to be plague victims are they are much later than the plague.

Seems according to the link that it was just images with meanings and in this case - death.

Oh well!

Kerry

[Kevwood]

Hi, if you click the link i posted on page 1 of this thread it will tell you.

By the way Maggie i live in Hinckley, wheres the gravestone? Is it Ashby Rd?
I can get a photo.

Kev.

[kerryb]

Kev

Yes I saw your link, thank you.  Got me thinking actually.  I have  a chap in my family tree, Jonathan Harmer who is known, by some, in these parts for creating terracotta baises that were stuck onto gravestones round Sussex
http://baldwin.rootschat.net/html/gravestones.html

and I am now wondering whether he chose his designs, not randomly but by choice.  Most of the ones I have seen were urns of fruit and flowers but some had cherubs too.

Hmm

Kerry

[maggiefishblue]

Hi Kev,

The grave I'm thinking of is in St Mary's Churchyard - as far as I can remember (and my memory is shaky at the best of times  ) it is along the side of the actual church  -  to the left (as you enter the church) of the main door.

Maggie 

[westiesmith]

Here's a photo my daughter took in a churchyard in Dumfries while on holiday last year. Apparently quite a lot of the gravestones had these skulls on the back.

[MJDickson]

There quite a few of these in Peebles (Scotland) cemetery. They scared the living daylights out of me as a child, and I would not want to go to that part of the churchyard!

[Andi R]

have a look at this

http://olivetreegenealogy.com/misc/grave.shtml


AR

[apanderson]

Here's a wee collage of some of my favourite gravestones . . . .