The Reverend Mair and family

I have been a bit negligent re posting here but it's not because I haven't paid regular visits to the graveyard. It's partly because in the winter and with little light it's much harder to decipher the old inscriptions on the graves than in the lovely sunny weater we were blessed with yesterday and today and also because I have been rather busy on my other blog as well as on my Blipfoto page. It all takes a lot of time on my dial-up connection but hopefully I'll be showing you some beautiful gravestones here in the coming days. I've also changed the banner to reflect the season!

This is a very impressive tablestone grave and has the following engraved text:

Here is interred the Rev. James

Mair late Min. of the Associate Con

gregation in this place, who died

the 8th Jan. 1774 in the 34th year of his

ministry in said congragation and 74

of his age.

He was an active, faithful and

successful min. zealous for the ......(unreadable)

impartial in the exercise of dis

cipline and steady in his adherence

to the principles of the Church of Scotland.

In private life a man of candour

and simplicity without ostentation

pious and devout geven to hospita

lity, a warm friend , an affectionate

husband, an indulgent parent.

Psalm (?)6 and 9

My flesh shall rest in hope

Also two of his sons are here

interred, James who died 28(or 9) October 1747

aged 10 months

and Patk(or r) who died 10th Oct. 1756(or 0), aged 8 years

Erected to their memories

by

his son Thomas 16th July 1774

According to Sheila A Scott's book Peeblesshire Monumental Inscriptions-pre 1850 this Thomas died on the 16th July 1817 aged 74. However there is no mention of this on the tablegrave itself as far as I can see but parts of the stone are hidden from view due to other graves placed very close to it.

On one side of this splendid tablestone grave is a smiling Winged Spirit, beautifully carved with wonderful detail in the hair and wings. She had to be photographed on the diagonal as another grave is quite close. Once it's warm enough to lay on the grass I'll try laying on the grass and see if I can't get a better photograph. She really deserves to be shown in all her glory.

On the other side is a skull and probably crossbones but as you can see There is absolutely no chance of getting inbetween this tablestone grave and the obelisk standing right next to it to take a picture of the skull. This is just about the best view of it I could get. It seems very strange to have another grave monument this close, specially as the people commemorated on the obelisk seem to bear no family relationship to the Reverend.