Date on grave - is this '8th', '9th' or another day ?

[Gadget]

I think it's either an 8 or 9.  I wouldn't think it is  the way a 2 would be written in those days - certainly it looks like a scribbled one, which would not fit with the date numerals.  Also, the superscript is not very clear - it could be part of an h.


Gadget

[Ruskie]

I think it's either an 8 or 9.  I wouldn't think it is  the way a 2 would be written in those days - certainly it looks like a scribbled one, which would not fit with the date numerals.  Also, the superscript is not very clear - it could be part of an h.


Gadget

I agree with that. 

The more I look at the numbers the more clearly I see the tail of the 9s in 1799. They are identical in form to the 9^th (apart from that 'extra bit') ..

If you look at the letters of the word August, you can't see a 'g' or a 't' but we know they are there - I think the same is the case with the numbers. 

[Hermit73]

I noticed that the mason's style on a few graves in this graveyard is to write the names of places and months, and biblical quotes, in very stylised script, but people's names, years and relationships in gothic block capitals. The month is stylised, as we'd expected, but this number is extremely stylised. I'd go with '9', looping up at the base, but truly it could be a crazy '8' as well!

Thanks for your thorough approach, Simon!

ps - the superscript is really annoying me now! lol