Detail of headstone to John Robertson 1809. Digital image of B 4397/13

Description Detail of headstone to John Robertson 1809. Digital image of B 4397/13

Date 1991

Collection Papers of Betty Willsher, historian, St Andrews, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 800924

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of B 4397/13

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating John Robertson, Covington Parish Church and Churchyard, South Lanarkshire On the reverse face of this stone are the tools of a mason, evidently John Robertson's trade in life. At the top are a pair of compasses and a set-square, with a mason's mell, a round hammer, and a chisel. These emblems are framed by a pair of simple pilasters, a form of architectural decoration resembling a flattened pillar, often seen on 18th- and 19th-century buildings across Scotland. Local information describes how John Robertson, a Highlander himself, joined the Jacobite army in 1745. Evidently when the troops arrived in Lanarkshire, they were surprised to find someone who could speak Gaelic, and quickly gave him a gun. This gravestone commemorates John Robertson, who died in 1809 at the age of 91, and his wife Margaret Pairman, who died in 1797 aged 57. The inscription on their memorial reads: 'Here Lyes/John Robertson who died/20 November 1809 age 91 years/Also Margaret Pairman his/spouse who died 5 april/1797 aged 57'. This inscription suggests that a memorial might not have been erected when Margaret died in 1797, and that it was only when John, the head of the family died, that a headstone was carved. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/800924

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap