Archibald Wilson

This is without doubt one of the most interesting gravestones in West Linton Graveyard. It portrays a man dressed in wonderful costume and cloak. The writing must once have been on the other side of the stone

as seen above but it has now entirely disappeared. In Sheila A. Scott's book Peeblesshire Monumental Inscriptions - pre 1850, it merely stated that it belongs to Archibald Wilson and as can still be seen, just underneath the crossbones, it dates back to 1705. I think the costume was contemporary to that time. Also note the splendid skull and spirals at the top and the very ornately carved pillars and garland. Whoever he might have been Archibald Wilson must have been very well-to-do. This gravestone required an expert mason who no doubt charged a pretty penny.

I'm almost sure he was the Archibald Wilson who was born in 1651 and had a wife called Margaret Hope (born in 1655) who are mentioned in archives here . The gravestone also get a mention on the ancient monuments Scotland site under West Linton. Can we see his face above? Sadly it has received a few dents over time but his wig still looks very impressive. This became my blip for today.

 The details of the carving are beautiful such as the shoe buckle above

and his fabulous costume down to the last button. He seems quite at peace with his folded hands. I wish I knew more about him but sadly this is not to be. However his amazing gravestone means that he won't be forgotten!

John and William Blair

A stiff wind was blowing and it was very cold for my visit to the graveyard this morning. But it was a lot brighter than during the past few weeks so much better for photography. I owe all the information about the above gravestone to Sheila A. Scott's book Peeblesshire Monumental Inscriptions - pre 1855 as the inscription itself can no longer be read (at least not by me!) as you can see on the picture below

According to her this stone belongs to John and William Blair, and the stone also features (barely discernable now!) a pair of scales as well as a merchant's mark. She dates it back to 1709. As you can see moss is well on the way to gobbling up this stone completely and the carving is being worn away by the weather on a daily base. Without the book I would not have noticed the scales at all.