A talk by Chris Cooper on the The John Bayne of Pitcairlie Mausoleum, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Focusing on the lives and legacies of John Bayne and Eupham Aikman.
This talk was given on 18th April 2026 as part of the Legacies in Stone community heritage project. Brought to you by Edinburgh World Heritage, the Friends of Greyfriars Kirkyard, and the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Legacies in Stone project. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
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As the 300th anniversary of the birth of James Hutton approaches (3rd June) we are getting more geologists wanting to visit his memorial. The respect and affection these visitors have for James Hutton serves to remind us just how great an impact this man had and continues to have on people who understand his genius, have studied his work and followed in his footsteps by becoming geologists.
Every one of the people buried at Greyfriars Kirkyard have individual stories, deserve to be remembered and respected for the lives they lived. But very few still command the esteem and reverence of James Hutton.
A Group from the Geological Society of America in Edinburgh this week to celebrate James Hutton’s anniversary’s
An American Couple who have long admired James Hutton and flew in to Edinburgh so they could lay a wreath at his grave.
Delighted to report that the memorial for Walter Scott (Father of Sir Walter Scott) and several members of the same family has been restored and remounted in the Kirkyard today. We embarked on this project as the stone had fallen over and become illegible, so very few people realised that the Scott family burial plot was here. Walter Scott was an Elder at Greyfriars Kirk and the whole family (including Sir Walter Scott) were members of the congregation here for many years. They didn’t have a gravestone until this one was erected many years after their passing. Now it stands again.
Many thanks to Robertson’s Memorials for fixing the stone, to Edinburgh Bereavement Services for mounting the stone, to The Edinburgh Walter Scott Club for supporting the project and to our Members of the Friends of Greyfriars for raising the funds to pay for the work.
Remounted and fully legible. We will tidy up the area around the stone in due course, but this is a huge improvement on how it used to look.Jim and his team from Robertson’s Memorials who did the work.The foundation had been installed by Edinburgh Bereavement Services ready for the restored stone to be mounted on a bed of cement.Drilling the hole for the locating pin.
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
Something remarkable just happened at Greyfriars Kirkyard. On April 18th, a team of volunteers, archaeologists, and conservators achieved what hasn’t been done in living memory: lifting the massive ledger stone within the John Bayne of Pitcairlie enclosure.
The Rescue Mission
For decades, photographic records showed the stone slowly being swallowed by the earth. After carefully clearing the topsoil, the team discovered the stone had cracked under the pressure. It has now been entrusted to expert stone conservator Nic Boyes for off-site repair before its eventual return to its rightful place.
The Mystery Below
Beyond the stone itself, the team was hunting for a hidden vault. With the Pitcairlie mausoleum showing signs of settlement, understanding the ground conditions is vital for its survival.
The findings so far:
The Vault: No entrance was uncovered yet, but clear evidence of burial activity was found.
The Next Steps: While the eye couldn’t see a vault, a future Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey will map what lies beneath the surface.
The Details: Once cleaned, the ledger stone’s carvings may reveal secrets lost to time.
A Future Secured
These are small steps, but they are essential. Every discovery brings this Category A listed structure one step closer to a safe and secure future.
Two ways to stay tuned as we continue to peel back the layers of Edinburgh’s history. Please become a member of Friends of Greyfriars Kirkyard at fogk.org or join the Edinburgh World Heritage mailing list at ewht.org.uk
Supported by: the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to the National Lottery players and the City of Edinburgh Council. Legacies in Stone: Connecting Communities with Historic Graveyards is a partnership project with Edinburgh World Heritage.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Foulis Memorial and the Bannatyne are the two most outstanding examples of monumental architecture in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Each stands alone as soaring celebrations of the symbolism of death, resurrection and status. Each is a sermon in stone that speak volumes about the people they were raised to memorialise and the time in which they died. But do they somehow speak to each other ?
The Foulis was commissioned by George Foulis, the son of the deceased and it was created by the finest Master Mason of the period, William Ayton, in 1633/34. The Bannatyne was commissioned by Janet McMath, the young wife of the deceased and also created by William Ayton in 1635. Whilst each monument has much in common, they are different in some obvious and perhaps quite subtle ways.
The Foulis is designed to be a “look at us” monument, with the portraits of the deceased loving power couple taking centre stage. They look down on viewers from their lofty stance, where they are dressed to impress in their grand, perhaps rather haughty, clothing. Despite the inscription describing them as “humble”, there is nothing remotely modest or reserved about this memorial. One can’t help but think the Kardashians would approve.
The Foulis Memorial
The Bannatyne on the other hand is designed around the theme of Vanity and the need to avoid it. “Vanitas” is the use of symbolism to convey the meaning that life on earth is but a passing phase in which ambition, and worldly desires are futile, a mere vanity. Vanitas artwork developed and became very popular in Holland in the 16th & 17th centuries, where many Scottish people went to study, trade or escape. They were influenced by this art and inevitably brought it back to Scotland. This genre is depicted on the Bannatyne with symbols showing a Cherub blowing bubbles, amongst flowers and smoke, with the words “Nothing evades Death” and “What is Man’s Life ? A shade, a smoke, a flower ; short to the good, to the bad doth long endure” and “know the vanity of transitory things”.
Perhaps this theme on the Bannatyne serves deliberately to contrast with the excessive flamboyant pretentious pomposity of the Foulis ? So could Janet McMath be speaking to George Foulis, saying “I disapprove of your vanity” in a rather subtle & dignified manner ?
The Bannatyne Memorial
That either Monument was tolerated by a strictly Protestant society in 17th Century Scotland is something of a surprise. Although perhaps Charles I’s attempts to reintroduce colour, style and ceremony in the 1630’s was almost encouraging such elaborate works.
This enclosure was raised by Rachel Balfour, the widow of William Forrester, a Writer to the King’s Signet who died in 1701. The inscription over the entrance speaks about William’s Mother & Father, of whom he was clearly very proud. William’s mother was Christine MacNeil, who had 8 sons and 3 daughters in 50 years of marriage to his father, Reverend Alexander Forrester. Alexander (born in 1611) was a committed Presbyterian and Covenanter who signed the National Covenant in 1638, served with the Covenanter Army in the 1640’s and steadfastly resisted Charles II’s attempts to impose an Episcopalian Church structure in the 1660’s. Alexander was Minister at St Mungo’s in Dumfriesshire, but refused to conform with Charles II’s “innovations” and so was expelled and subsequently arrested for holding an illegal conventicle. He then spent years imprisoned, firstly on Bass Rock and secondly in solitary confinement in the Edinburgh Tolbooth. He died in 1686 aged 75 and was buried at Greyfriars. His wife, Christine died in 1694 and was also buried at Greyfriars.
William was their 4th son who had a successful career as a Writer to the Signet. When William died in 1701 he left instructions to his Widow to erect this burial lair. When built this lair would have stood alone (like a detached house), with its elaborate external side walls, bearing many mortality symbols, fully visible. In subsequent years further burial lairs were built adjacent to the Forrester, effectively turning it in to a terraced house, with its side walls now less visible, but well worth seeking out. The Forrester Lair became a “Den” for youngsters (quite possibly pupils from Heriot’s School), who between 1710 and 1727, carved some fascinating graffiti on the inner walls, also well worth seeking out.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Foulis Memorial and the Bannatyne are the two most outstanding examples of monumental architecture in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Each stands alone as soaring celebrations of the symbolism of death, resurrection and status. Each is a sermon in stone that speak volumes about the people they were raised to memorialise and the time in which they died. But do they somehow speak to each other ?
The Foulis was commissioned by George Foulis, the son of the deceased and it was created by the finest Master Mason of the period, William Ayton, in 1633/34. The Bannatyne was commissioned by Janet McMath, the young wife of the deceased and also created by William Ayton in 1635. Whilst each monument has much in common, they are different in some obvious and perhaps quite subtle ways.
The Foulis is designed to be a “look at us” monument, with the portraits of the deceased loving power couple taking centre stage. They look down on viewers from their lofty stance, where they are dressed to impress in their grand, perhaps rather haughty, clothing. Despite the inscription describing them as “humble”, there is nothing remotely modest or reserved about this memorial. One can’t help but think the Kardashians would approve.
The thick ledger stone lying in the bottom right of this photo carries a rather special inscription. It tells us about Miss Ann Reid, who dedicated herself to improving the lives of impoverished girls. It reads as follows :
“Sacred to the memory of Miss Ann Reid, a lady of exemplary piety and extensive but unostentatious charity; who died on the 23rd Nov. 1851, aged 90 years. From the savings of a very limited income, she established and endowed in perpetuity Miss Annie Reid’s Free Female School at Wester Newington, for the education of indigent children, without exclusion of sect or persuasion, constituting destitution as the only claim to admission. The school has been carried on successfully since 1815, the girls attending it being about 50. It is now vested in certain of the magistrates of Edinburgh and the Ministers of St Cuthbert’s as Trustees. Reader, mark from this example how much good may be done with small means, by the exertions of a mind devoted to virtue, guided by a benevolent heart !”
What this stone reflects is a period of rapid growth in Edinburgh which also saw a great deal of extreme poverty. The Reid School was one effort to educate the female children living in abject poverty, to enable them to learn to read and write and obtain useful skills and thereby break the cycle of poverty. The Free school operated at 81 Causewayside, in the Newington district to the south east of Edinburgh City Centre. Reid’s School merged with others when the School Education Board took over the provision of education for all children in the late 19th century.
Miss Ann Reid dedicated a great deal of her life to improving the lives of impoverished girls. She wasn’t a wealthy male merchant with all of the power and resources needed to contribute to charity. Instead she used her limited resources, energy and passion to great effect, creating, as the gravestone states, a lovely example of what can be achieved and a lasting legacy by improving the lives of others. Apparently this gravestone was partially paid for by the women who had benefited so much from Ann Reid’s charity.
This relatively modern looking burial lair towards the North West corner of Greyfriars Kirkyard was used by the Hope Family since the 17th century, but the monument there today wasn’t raised until the 19th century. Perhaps the best know member of the family buried here is John Hope, the much celebrated botanist.
Born in Edinburgh in 1725, the son of a surgeon Robert Hope. John Hope studied Medicine at Edinburgh University, then studied botany in Paris at the Jardin du Roi. Hope graduated MD from Glasgow University in 1750. In 1762, he was elected fellow of the College of Physicians in Edinburgh. Hope had a lucrative private practice in Edinburgh and was appointed physician to the Royal Infirmary. He was active on the town’s council in improving the city’s sanitation.
Hope’s life spanned the Scottish enlightenment, when Edinburgh was the place to study medicine, and all medical students had to take botany courses. John created a school for botanists after spinning off the Materia Medica (pharmacy) department of the medical school, which allowed him to specialise exclusively in botany. Hope was an excellent lecturer, with his students travelling to Edinburgh from all over the world. He was appointed as the King’s botanist for Scotland and superintendent of the Royal Garden in Edinburgh. Hope was the first person in Britain to teach the Linnaean system of taxonomy (the system of classifying groups of biological organisms). A colored etching by J. Kay from 1786, depicting John Hope in the botanic gardens.
Hope’s creation of a new botanic garden in Edinburgh in 1763 was a bold and forward looking decision, completely in step with enlightenment Edinburgh that was creating The New Town. Hope received a royal warrant granting him the funds needed to construct the new garden on Leith Walk. The site was large enough to accommodate plants collected from all over the world, through Hope’s extensive global network of both professional and hobby botanical enthusiasts. With a large greenhouse and two hothouses, the Leith Walk Botanic Garden comfortably housed plants from many different climates, where they could thrive and be studied to determine whether they had properties of value to medicine. Edinburgh has had a vibrant passion for Life Sciences ever since.
Hope was a well known & influential character around Edinburgh and featured in one of John Kay’s many cartoons.
Hope died in Edinburgh in 1786. Today a small modern grey granite stone in front of his ancestors’ memorial commemorates him.
This large domed mausoleum quite literally sits in the shadow of the Adam Family mausoleum, which is larger, far more ornate and in much better condition. However this remains a particularly note worthy mausoleum because of its design and the person who is buried here.
William Robertson was a prominent Scottish Enlightenment Historian, Minister, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh. His tomb is situated in the southwest area of the Kirkyard, near the entrance to The Covenanters’ Prison.
William Robertson was Minister at Greyfriars Kirk, Royal Chaplain to George III, a leader of the “moderates” in the Church of Scotland and a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. But it was his work as a Historian for which he will be best remembered. Robertson made significant contributions to the writing of Scottish history and the history of Spain and Spanish America, and his historiographical approach had considerable contemporary influence (particularly his emphasis on the consistency of human nature across different eras and societies). One of his most notable works is his “History of Scotland 1542–1603”, begun in 1753 and first published in 1759. His multi volume history of Spain and of Charles V was translated into Spanish and was recognized by the Spanish authorities, so he was elected to Spain’s Royal Academy of History.
William Robertson was also a member of the famous “Oyster Club” which was founded by James Hutton (geologist), Joseph Black (chemist) and the famous economist and author Adam Smith. The Oyster Club was a weekly meeting for Edinburgh intellectuals as well as visiting thinkers like James Watt and Benjamin Franklin. Other members included David Hume (philosopher) & Adam Ferguson (poet). They were all avid oyster eaters and would meet each week in a different tavern to discuss art, architecture, philosophy, politics, science, history and economics. Each member gave a brief update on their projects. In Hutton’s words the discussions were “informal and amusing, despite their great learning”.
William Robertson gives his name to the William Robertson Building of the University of Edinburgh on Teviot Place, home to the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. There is also an endowed chair at Edinburgh University in his name, the William Robertson Chair of History, for a specialist in non-European modern history.
The Robertson Family were prominent in Edinburgh society for a century. William’s Father was a Minister at Greyfriars Kirk between 1736 and 1745. Three of Robertson’s children reached their own fame and are buried in individual plots directly behind the family’s main mausoleum. These are the Hon. William Robertson, Lord Robertson (a senator), General James Robertson, and Lt Col David Robertson.
