There are many amazing Women memorialised at Greyfriars Kirkyard, and many many thousands more who lie here in unmarked graves.
Just one example of an incredible Woman who did so much for other Women & Girls in her time. Mary Erskine was a philanthropic businesswoman & money lender who used her wealth to found two schools and hospitals (think boarding schools) for Maidens.
Mary was born in 1629 and was buried at Greyfriars in an unmarked grave in the Covenanters Prison area in 1707 at the grand age of 78. Mary was a very astute businesswoman at a time when she would have faced many barriers. She must have been exceptionally determined, capable and courageous to have built a successful business and achieved such wealth. And exceptionally generous to use that wealth to found the Merchant Maidens Hospital, a school for the orphaned female children of Edinburgh’s Merchants which is today named after her, The Mary Erskine School, as well as The Trades Maiden Hospital (still existing in the form of the Trades Maiden Fund). This was a school for the orphaned female children of crafts and tradesmen.
Her modern memorial at Greyfriars is shown in this picture.
