Headstone for Margaret Ireland and John Turk, 1736. Digital image of B 4260/7

Description Headstone for Margaret Ireland and John Turk, 1736. Digital image of B 4260/7

Date 1990

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

Catalogue Number SC 803673

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of B 4160/7

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating Margaret Ireland and Alex McTurk, Carsphairn Churchyard, Dumfries & Galloway Sprays of greenery and two large S-shaped scrolls dominate this memorial, typical elements of the Ayrshire tradition of gravestone decoration, similar to the memorial to Robert Grierson in this churchyard. Surrounded by greenery, a coat of arms shows three stars separated by a chevron on the left, while the right side shows three crescents, though neither are the traditional arms of the McTurk or Ireland families. Beneath, the skull is a stark metaphor of death. While leaves, plants and flowers appear decorative, they could also express a range of ideas about death, mortality and the afterlife. Flowers could be read as metaphors on the shortness of life, blooming and then quickly withering, or might be associated with mourning, such as lilies or amaranths, or purity, such as the rose. Other plants and sprays of foliage may have been used as symbols of regeneration: just as plants return to life after appearing dead throughout winter so the soul was believed to rise to Heaven after mortal death, to await the Last Judgement and the Resurrection of the dead. This gravestone commemorates Alex McTurk and Margaret McTurk, who died in the late 18th century and John McTurk, who died in 1761. A 1990 transcription reads: 'Here lyes the bodies of/Alex McTurk & Margaret Ireland/ Sober were frugal and just/who now do lie./Here lyes the corps of John/McTurk who died 8 March 1761'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/803673

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap