Gravestone History & Symbolism
The practice of marking graves has been around for thousands of years, with stones and boulders being placed on graves to protect the remains of the deceased from wild animals and also, as the superstitious believed, to prevent the dead from rising.
Graves were normally situated around the family home but eventually the idea of a cemetery evolved with the Church recognising burial as a valuable source of income. By the 19th century, due to the increase in the population and the first cholera epidemic, public health issues were brought to the forefront and overcrowded churchyards became a menace. Overcrowding was such that in some cases corpses were buried only two feet below the surface. Cemetery building increased but these were privately owned and financed by shareholders and there was increased public dissatisfaction. A second cholera epidemic in the late 1840's forced the government to act and in the 1850's a series of burial acts were passed which eventually established a system of public cemeteries.
Along with the development of the public cemetery, the Victorian era saw the birth of elaborate memorials and gravestones carved with symbolic images, some of a religious nature and some personal to the deceased. The images were easily understood in an age when literacy was limited. To the family historian, the inscription and symbolism contained on the gravestone is invaluable to their research, building up a more detailed picture of their ancestor, as well as an expression of love and remembrance.
The craftsmanship and attention to detail of the stonemason is impressive and inspired MGCTP team member, Spatts, to collect a series of photographic examples of these symbolic images which we have interpreted in this gallery.
001 - Grapevine
002 - IHS monogram
003 - Dove descending
004 - Harp with broken string
005 - Lily of the valley
006 - Easter lily
007 - Broken flower
008 - Daisy
009 - Anchor
010 - Rose
011 - Scroll
012 - Morning glory
013 - Rose/poppy/Easter lily
014 - Ivy
015 - Square and compass
016 - Star of David
017 - Anchor/cross/heart
018 - 3 of any symbol
019 - Tree/urn
020 - Broken lily
021 - Eagle
022 - Angel
023 - A scene from the Bible
024 - Wheat
025 - Coffin/palm leaves
026 - Wings
027 - Draped urn/inverted torches
028 - Quotation from the Bible
Symbolic blood of Christ;
Possible abbreviation of Latin phrase meaning "Jesus, Saviour of Life";
Holy Ghost;
Praise to God with the broken string representative of break in mortal life;
Purity, innocence, virginity;
Symbol of the resurrection, also purity and innocence;
An untimely or premature death, often found on the grave of a younger person;
Innocence, often found on the grave of a child;
Hope, life eternal, may signify a mariner, also a Masonic symbol for well grounded hope;
The brevity of earthly existence, also beauty;
Symbol of the scriptures or the law;
The beginning of life, symbol of the resurrection, also beauty, youth and love;
Brevity of earthly existence/death/resurrection and purity;
Friendship;
A Masonic symbol usually found on the graves of Freemasons;
Divine protection, also symbolic of the Jewish faith;
Hope or eternal life/symbol of Christianity/love of Christ;
Symbolic of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost;
Tree symbolises life whilst the urn represents immortality;
Lily symbolic of innocence the broken stem representative of untimely death;
Representative of St John the Evangelist, also fierceness, symbol of US or the military;
A guide to Heaven, a messenger between God and man;
An illustration relating to John Ch 4, V1-26 - Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman;
The divine harvest, i.e. reap what we sow, a long and productive life
Mortality of man/victory of death and resurrection
The soul in flight
Symbol of mourning/denotes death of an older person/life extinguished
An illustration to represent a quotation from the Bible
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