Page 2 - Historic Churches 2013

2 BCD Special Report on Historic Churches 20th annual edition CATHEDRALC O M M U N I C A T I O N S
KIRKYARD HERITAGE
GRAVEYARD CONSERVATION
IN SCOTLAND
Susan Buckham and Catherine Lloyd
W hat makes historic churchyards
special and worth conserving? The
answer varies not only from site to
site but from visitor to visitor. Conservation
management is increasingly adopting an
integrated approach which balances cultural
importance (architectural, historical and
archaeological) with ecological values.
Dr Susan Buckham and Catherine Lloyd consider
developments in Scotland over the past 15 years
from their respective viewpoints as built
heritage and natural heritage practitioners.
CULTURAL AND NATURAL
IMPORTANCE
In his 1879 description of Greyfriars Kirkyard,
Robert Louis Stevenson captures the sights
and sounds of this remarkable historic
churchyard in Edinburgh’s Old Town:
As you walk upon the graves, you see children
scattering crumbs to feed the sparrows; you
hear people singing or washing dishes, or the
sound of tears and castigation; the linen on a
clothes-pole flaps against funereal sculpture;
or perhaps the cat slips over the lintel and
descends on a memorial urn. And as there
is nothing else astir, these incongruous
sights and noises take hold on the attention
and exaggerate the sadness of the place.
(RL Stevenson, Edinburgh:
Picturesque Notes)
What makes Stevenson’s account so compelling
is the vivid way he encapsulates the site’s
character. He does this not only by describing
the varied burial landscape but also by
recounting what people do in the churchyard
and how these activities connect them with
Scottish history, local folklore and personal
memories. Stevenson explores Greyfriars’
relationship to its setting to show how these
different spaces combine to form a particular
atmosphere and experience for the visitor.
The picture Stevenson draws is a snapshot
in time – sensibilities towards death have
changed and the landscape he describes has
altered and evolved. Nevertheless, Stevenson’s
account of Greyfriars fits surprisingly well
with modern approaches to the assessment
of graveyards’ cultural and natural values.
Such assessments typically seek to understand
a graveyard’s fabric and development while
also appreciating the associations it evokes.
Today, that understanding is carried a step
further – it is used to shape priorities for
how we manage and maintain graveyards.
UNDERSTANDING THE FABRIC
OF THE GRAVEYARD
A great strength of Stevenson’s description
is that it seems so all-encompassing. He
looks beyond the gravestones to take in all of
the churchyard’s fabric and features. Yet we
need to remember that Stevenson looks at
Greyfriars with a picturesque and partial eye.
We don’t know what details he chose to omit
as, in his view, irrelevant. For example, the
only flora and fauna described are weeds and
an over-abundance of neighbourhood cats.
Although graveyards are a very common
form of heritage asset, they are surprisingly
under-researched. It is best to adopt a
comprehensive approach to documenting what
is found in a graveyard rather than simply
focussing on the features with the highest
artistic or architectural merit. Elements such
as kerb sets, grave-markers and other grave
furniture, even humps and bumps on the
ground, have evidential value and contribute
Lichens on a headstone at Inveravon church, Speyside