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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is in the hands of a separate trust from the church. For many people, the graveyard is associated primarily with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog who guarded his master’s grave. Though Bobby’s headstone is at the entrance to the Kirkyard, he is actually buried at a grassy verge by a wall nearby, as the Kirk authorities would not allow his burial on consecrated ground. The dog’s famous statue is opposite the graveyard’s gate, at the junction of George IV Bridge, and Candlemaker Row.

The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanters. They began in 1638 with signing of the National Covenant in the Kirk, and in 1679 some 1200 Covenanters were imprisoned in the Kirkyard pending trial – an area known as the Covenanters’ Prison.

Many of the plots are enclosed in ornate stone and ironwork cages, called mortsafes, to preserve the dead from the attentions of the early 19th century resurrection men who supplied Edinburgh Medical College with the corpses for dissection. During the early days of photography in the 1840s the kirkyard was used by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson as a setting for several portraits and tableaux such as The Artist and The Gravedigger.

The Greyfriars Cemetery is reputedly haunted. One such haunt is attributed to the restless spirit of the infamous ‘Bloody’ George Mackenzie buried there in 1691. The ‘Mackenzie Poltergeist’ is said to cause bruising, bites and cuts on those who come into contact with it and many visitors have reported feeling strange sensations. Particularly, visitors who take the City of the Dead ghost tour, which has access to the Covenanters’ Prison, have indeed emerged with injuries they have no recollection of sustaining. Even more interestingly, a number of deaths have taken place in the Kirkyard itself. The SciFi channel’s Scariest Places on Earth featured Greyfriars Cemetery.

The Kirkyard backs on to George Heriot’s School, and the Greyfriars Bobby pub.

A sign at the entrance of the Kirkyard (right) reads as follows

In Greyfriars Church the National Covenant was adopted and signed 28 February 1638. In the Churchyard are objects of historical interest as the Martyrs’ Monument towards the North East and the Covenanter’s prison towards the South West. Also the graves of many Scotsmen and citizens of Edinburgh of whom some of the most important are
James Douglas, Earl of Morton Regent of Scotland died 1581
George Buchanan, Historian and Reformer died 1582
Alexander Henderson, Churchman and Statesman died 1646
Sir George Mackenzie, King’s Advocate died 1691
Mary Erskine, School Founder died 1707
William Carstairs, Statesman died 1715
George Watson, School Founder died 1723
Colin MacLaurin, Mathematician died 1746
Thomas Ruddiman, Grammarian died 1757
Allan Ramsay, Poet died 1758
William Robertson D.D., Historian died 1793
Duncan Ban MacIntyre, Gaelic Poet died 1812
William Creech, Bookseller died 1815
Henry MacKenzie, “The Man of Feeling” died 1831
Thomas McCrie, Historian died 1835
Duncan Ban MacIntyre’s memorial was renovated in 2005, after a fundraising campaign of over a year at the cost of about £3,000.

Other people buried in the kirkyard include:

Joseph Black (1728–1799)
James Hutton (1726–1797)
William McGonagall (1825–1902)
Captain John Porteous (ca. 1695–1736)
Maj Gen William Farquhar, (ca. 1770–1839) 1st Resident of Singapore

Working as a Manager for Uhaul, when I do get spare time I sit with my ouija board, do as many paranormal investigations as I can, and research everything and anything paranormal. I am also very interested in railroads and model trains in general.

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