Peebles, Old Town, Old St. Andrew's Church, cemetery. General view of the headstone of Thomas Hogg. Twisted pilasters with Ionic capitals, with a winged soul in the pediment above. A large skull and c ...

Description Peebles, Old Town, Old St. Andrew's Church, cemetery. General view of the headstone of Thomas Hogg. Twisted pilasters with Ionic capitals, with a winged soul in the pediment above. A large skull and crossed bones appear between the pillasters, topped with an hourglass. Digital image of B 4146/10

Date 1988

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

Catalogue Number SC 801894

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of B 4146/10

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating Thomas Hogg, St Andrew's Church, Neidpath Road, Peebles, Scottish Borders Within the tympanum, a winged figure with long, curled hair represents the soul, ascending to Heaven after death. Beneath, flanked by pilasters (flattened Classical pillars), the emblems express the melancholy sentiments of death and mortality. The skull and cross bones are immediate motifs for death, while on top of the skull an hourglass represents the passing of time and the shortness of mortal life. This gravestone appears to belong to a group of memorials which may have been carved by the same mason. Each of these stones features pilasters with spiral decoration along their shafts and distinctive winged souls which are often shown depicted with unusual hairstyles and kite-shaped chest feathers. Some of these winged souls also feature small flowers emblazoned upon their chests. Post-Reformation gravestones like this are an important part of the nation's heritage, documenting the lives of ordinary Scots who would otherwise leave little record of their existence. Through the decorative carvings and inscriptions it is possible to learn more about the lives of these people, what they did for a living and, in this case, even the clothes they wore and what they looked like. This gravestone commemorates Thomas Hogg, who died as an infant in 1833. This date is given at the top of the inscription panel, which reads: 'Here lyes Thomas Hogg/son to James Hogg, who/died young/Alex Hogg died 1881/Margaret Riddell died 1886'. Evidently the gravestone was used by another member of the family, perhaps Thomas's brother, and his wife. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/801894

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap