Headstone for James McTaggart, 1744.

Description Headstone for James McTaggart, 1744.

Date 1991

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

Catalogue Number B 4180/8

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 803829

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating James and Patrick McTaggart, Churchyard & Gordon Tomb, Old Kirk, Anwoth, Dumfries & Galloway At the top, a winged figure represents the soul of James McTaggart ascending to Heaven, and is executed in a style of carving quite different to the local designs. Beneath, the grim skull and cross bones symbolise death while the adjacent hourglass is an emblem of mortality, signifying the running out of the sands of time. A third emblem, on the right, has been destroyed through damage to the stone. 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 even the clothes they wore and what they looked like. This gravestone commemorates James McTaggart, a tenant farmer, who died in 1716 aged 46. The inscription reads: 'Here lyes the corps/of James McTaggart/who lived in Archland and/died there 1716 aged 46/years. Likewise the corpse/of Patrick McTaggart Wright/Son of the Foresaid James/who died 1734 aged 25 years'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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