This is a slightly odd one for several reasons. Firstly it is inside the Greyfriars Kirk rather than outside. Secondly, it spent the first 290 years of its life elsewhere and was only moved here in 1938.
This is the memorial for Lady Yester (1572-1647). Margaret, Lady Yester donated funds to complete the Tron Kirk on the High Street in 1641 and further funds to build a new Kirk on Infirmary Street in 1644. This new Kirk bore her name. Lady Yester was buried in an aisle at that Kirk when she died aged 75 in 1647 and this elaborate memorial plaque was raised above her grave.
The original Lady Yester Kirk building was replaced in 1805 (with Lady Yester’s memorial retained) and in 1938 that Kirk building was sold to Edinburgh University to be used as their Estates Office (a role it still serves) and the congregation merged with Greyfriars. At that time Lady Yester’s memorial was itself moved to Greyfriars Kirk and now occupies the South East corner of the Kirk (known as Lady Yester’s Aisle).
Lady Yester’s memorial is very ornate with gold gilding and inlays that make it stand out. At the bottom of the plaque is a skull and crossbones on a swag. At the top is the family’s Crest consisting of a radiant sun beneath the family motto “LUX VENIT AB ALTO” (“light comes from on high”). The central panel is framed by pillars between which is another skull and crossbones topped by an hourglass, wings, and blades of corn. This is surrounded by the mottoes “MORS PATET HORA LATET” (“death is sure, the hour unsure”) and “SPES ALTERA VITÆ” (“hope for another life”). The inscription (with its quirky spelling) reads :
IT’S NEIDLES TO ERECT A MARBLE TOMBE
THE DAYLIE BREAD THAT FOR THE HUNGRY WOMBE
AND BREAD OF LYF THY BOUNTIE HATH PROVYDED
FOR HUNGRIE SOULES ALL TYMES TO BE DIVYDED
WORLD LASTING MONIMENTIS SHALL REARE
THAT SHAL ENDURE TIL CHRIST HIMSELF APPEARE
POS’D WAS THY LYF PREPAR’D THY HAPPIE END
NOTHING IN EITHER WAS WITHOUT COMMEND
LET IT BE THE CAIR OF AL THAT LIVE THEREFTER
TO LIVE & DIE LIKE MARGARET LADY YESTER
WHO DIED 15 MARCH 1647 HER AGE 75
