Detail of tablestone (Sumervail). Digital image of B 4308/25

Description Detail of tablestone (Sumervail). Digital image of B 4308/25

Date 1991

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

Catalogue Number SC 800930

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of B 4308/25

Scope and Content End panel of a tablestone commemorating Elizabeth Gall and John Somervail, Crawfordjohn Parish Church, South Lanarkshire Flanked by an elaborately carved pair of legs, a winged soul or angel with curled hair and delicately feathered wings rises Heaven-wards. The scene beneath the angel carries a number of possible meanings. Here, a female face can be seen, flanked by what may be apple trees. Perhaps this is Elizabeth Gall in Paradise, surrounded by a garden of fruit-laden trees. Alternatively, another interpretation may be that this is a portrait of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Any depiction of a serpent may have been lost through the effects of stone decay. Post-Reformation gravestones like as this are an important part of the nation's heritage as they document the lives of ordinary Scots who would otherwise leave little record of their existence. Through the gravestone's decorative carvings and inscriptions it is possible to learn more about the lives of these people, what they did for a living and, in some cases, the clothes they wore and what they looked like. This monument commemorates Elizabeth Gall, who died in 1805, and John Somervail, a tenant farmer, who died in 1828. The inscription reads: 'Erected by Thomas Somervail son/of John Somervail tenant in Scarhead/to his mother Eilzabeth Gall who died/10 March 1805 aged 39 & his/father John Somervail who died 28th/December 1828 aged 61'. Reference to an inscription survey carried out in 1977 shows that Thomas died in 1861 at the age of 63, and was buried in the family plot. His wife, Barbara Thomson, is also buried here, and she died in 1866 aged 64. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/800930

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap