Friends of Greyfriars Kirkyard
helping to understand, appreciate & conserve Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh
Great to see some new youthful faces at today’s First Sunday (despite the damp weather). We had a good go at removing the Buddleia from the monuments along the East Wall and picked up all of the fallen branches from the recent high winds. Plus a thorough litterpick. We then had a Geek session looking at Marriage related stories around the Kirkyard, in preparation for a wedding party tour soon. A very productive and enjoyable afternoon, many thanks to everyone who came along and grafted today.
A full day for the Friends in the Kirkyard today. We started off with a Tour Training session where we discussed what goes in to making a good tour. Lots of ideas and examples were covered and hopefully more of us will be ready, willing & able to lead Tours in the Kirkyard in future. We took the opportunity to do a quick “Then & Now” photo at the Martyrs Monument. We then did a bumper litter pick and bin emptying session. This time of year sees the litter accumulation rate increase rapidly and the Crows and Squirrels get into the bins and spread the litter far & wide. But a big team effort had the place looking spic ‘n span just in time for this afternoon’s Tour. Our Tours today & tomorrow are to mark National Cemeteries week. A pretty good turn out of 20 plus local folk came along and were shown why we are so passionate about this place.
Thanks to everyone who came along and helped out or took part today. It was a really good day, albeit quite a long and tiring one.
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.
A Landmark Discovery
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:
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.
A chilly day saw the big coats back on, but we kept warm with some vigorous weeding. Our first task was to tidy up the Hutton burial lair so it looks its best for his upcoming anniversary. We then weeded a few other lairs, including Mary Erskine, Little & Hunter Blair.
Our Graveyard Geek session today looked at early 18th century memorials. These are a real mixed bag in terms of location, size & style compared to most 17th century examples.
Many thanks to everyone on our hard working team today.
The next First Sunday is on 7th June, we hope to see you there.
Today’s First Sunday saw us facing a strong & bitterly cold wind, with frequent rain showers. Never the less we did what we had to do in the Kirkyard, before making a beeline for the relative warmth & shelter of the museum. But most of the tourists in town today had the same idea, so the place was heaving. We escaped the crowds by ascending to the rooftop terrace where we got a rather good view back over the Kirkyard.
The next First Sunday is on 3rd May, when it will surely no longer be wintery weather. Hope to see you there.
So today was a busy day of activity & progress in the Kirkyard. Lesley & I started by delivering a full 2 hour tour for the Govan Stones Project. 18 of them travelled over from Glasgow to learn about the Kirkyard. They were all lovely, enthusiastic and knowledgeable people who seemed delighted with their tour.
We then grabbed a quick coffee before meeting Maddie from Edinburgh University who is doing a study of the Mackenzie Mausoleum. She loved getting up close to the mausoleum and we loved learning from Maddie about her project.
We then met Andy & Kevin from Edinburgh Bereavement Services who we assisted fit a new lamppost in the Kirkyard.
We then helped Andy & Kevin off load and install three new seats in the Kirkyard. Two of these seats have been funded by donations from an American Member of the Friends (who is an ancestor of Lord Warriston) and the the third is funded from the sale of our books. The seats are positioned by the Covenanters Prison, by the Grassmarket steps and in the west yard. They look great and should give people an opportunity to sit, rest and enjoy the Kirkyard for many years to come.
So a busy but very satisfying day.
So we were very busy litter picking, bin emptying, fence mending and path clearing today in the Kirkyard. After the clean up we went looking for gravestones which speak about people who went to work in India and the West Indies.
The mission for today was a thorough litterpick and a concentrated buddleia bash. A large buddleia bush has self seeded along the north wall. This produces many 1,000’s of seeds that blow on to the monuments from which germinates many invasive buddleia plants, whose roots force the stonework apart, damaging the structures. This buddleia bush had to go, to remove this seed source. Winter is the best time to do this as frosts should hopefully deter the root from regrowing. A determined effort took the bush down to ground level, then a couple of dozen copper nails were bashed in to further inhibit new growth. Thanks to all of the team who helped out today. And thanks to Edinburgh Bereavement Services who have agreed to collect the carefully bagged flower heads and cuttings tomorrow for safe disposal at Mortonhall.
Our next First Sunday is the 1st March 2026. All welcome to join us at 1pm meeting at the main gate.
Today’s First Sunday focused on cleaning out leaves and litter from the locked lairs on the South side of the Kirkyard. A dedicated team of Friends of Greyfriars Kirkyard braved the bitterly cold temperatures, keeping warm by brushing and bagging multiple huge black sacks. We have arranged for Edinburgh Bereavement Services (EBS) to pick up these bags on Monday Morning. Thanks to everyone who helped today, the lairs certainly look much better for it. And thanks to EBS for taking the bags away.
Our next First Sunday is February 1st, so hope to see you there.
