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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 46m

What a beautiful design!

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Liz Craig @willsmanonename.bsky.social · 13h

The grave of my great great grandparents Charles & Annie (Raymer) Keer, in my #OnePlaceStudy of #Sudbourne
#31DaysOfGraves
Day 9: hands

A hand reaching down from the top of a gravestone, holding flowers

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Andrea♻️ @riesenschritte.bsky.social · 4h

#31DaysOfGraves

Day10: Urn / Urne
Kolumbarium im Friedhof Wilmersdorf

Wände mit Fächern, die Urnen enthalten, von der Miite des Gangs aus gesehen.

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 53m

#31DaysOfGraves Day 10 - Urn: We have so many great examples at Warriston that I'm going to do a double post. Sadly, due to historic vandalism, many have been toppled to the ground. #Edinburgh #taphophile #WarristonCemetery 2/2

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 55m

#31DaysOfGraves Day 10 - Urn: We have so many great examples at Warriston that I'm going to do a double post. Sadly, due to historic vandalism, many have been toppled to the ground. #Edinburgh #taphophile #WarristonCemetery 1/2

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Yr Spooky Friend Camille @yrouttasight.bsky.social · 18h

#31daysofgraves Day 9: Hand

I love a zinc headstone, and I love Victorian hand symbolism even more. The hand encourages you to seek your loved one in the heavens. Look up!

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stjohnsgraveyard.bsky.social @stjohnsgraveyard.bsky.social · 18h

#31DaysOfGraves Day 9 Hand

A handshake for a life well-lived?

With these handshake graves depicting cuffed hands it would suggest both the families of 26 yr old Alfred Heaton and Grace Heaton, as well as, Thomas and Alice Scarr Sarginson of #Nelson were people of means.

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🥀🪦 @graveyardgirly.bsky.social · 15h

Day 9: Hand

I couldn’t decide on just one, this one’s a little more obvious but wonderful just the same.

Brompton Cemetery, London

#31daysofgraves

An ornate Victorian gravestone in Brompton Cemetery dedicated to Sarah, the beloved wife of William Bailey, who died in 1881 aged 49. The stone is Gothic in style, with intricate carved detailing and a pointed arch at the top. At its centre is a sculpted relief of two hands clasped in a handshake. one delicate, representing a woman’s hand, the other more robust, symbolizing a man’s. Below this, an inscription reads “In affectionate memory of Sarah,” followed by an epitaph. The monument has aged with time, showing weathering, and stands against a background of brick and other gravestones.
The clasped hands motif is a common Victorian symbol of eternal unity and farewell. It often represents a final parting between husband and wife, suggesting that the couple will meet again in the afterlife. The different cuffs, one feminine, one masculine, reinforce this idea of reunion beyond death.

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 15h

We have many! I'll make sure to include some throughout the month, just for you! :-D

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Katie Crane @ohfolkthat.bsky.social · 1d

#31DaysOfGraves
Day 9 - Hand

Loving the details of the hand on this stone in Greenspond, NL.

I can't see the carvers' mark, but I would be shocked if this wasn't a Skinner stone. Their style is pretty distinct. Definitely my favourites of the local carvers of the time!

A marble headstone in a cemetery in Greenspond, Newfoundland and Labrador. At the top is an incredibly details hand holding a quill over an open book which has the word Home written on it. Vines and leaves wrap around the book. Below that it reads:

In
Loving memory
Of
Stuart G. Bragg
Accidentally drowned
May 30th, 1931
Aged 25 years.
Erected by his wife Minnie.

Lo where this silent marble weeps
A husband, son and brother sleeps
A heart within whose sacred cell
The peaceful virtues loved to dwell.

Just apart where no shadows fall
In perfect peace awaiting all
Safe in the land that knows not pain
He is longing to meet us all again

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Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 22h

Day 9 of #31DaysOfGraves - Hand

"Our persecutors fill'd with rage,
Their brutish fury to aswage,
Took heads & hands of martyrs off,
That they might be the people's scoff..."

Here's the somewhat gruesome Covenanters' grave in Cupar Kirkyard, showing a severed hand of David Hackston, buried beneath.

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Lorraine Evans @thedeathhistorian.bsky.social · 23h

Day 9: Hands #31daysofgraves From clasping hands to an angelic pointy finger, you can't really go wrong....💀😉

#graves #graveyard #cemetery #cemeterieandgraveyards #death #symbolism #archaeology #mortality #gravestone #Victorian #burialground #burial #hands

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🩷🕊 Sara Flacci @saraflacci.bsky.social · 1d

Hand of God

Facade of the Colson-Verstraete family chapel at Campo Santo in Ghent
#31DaysOfGraves 9 • hand
#Cemetery #Cemeteries

B/W detail of the architectural decoration above the chapel door. The large hand, descending from a cloud, holds five praying figures in its palm. Oral sources indicate that these are five children who, due to illness, all died in quick succession.

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

#31DaysofGraves: Day9: Hand. Clasped hands can symbolise unity or reconnection between two people after death. We don't have many types of these at Warriston, but this celtic knot work stone is a nice example. #Edinburgh #celticknot #Warriston #taphophile

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

That's interesting - we have a gravestone with an angel positioned on the corner of a cubed/square stone too, although ours is a little more gargoyle-ish.

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Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 1d

Day 8 of #31DaysOfGraves - Glass

When visiting a graveyard, have you ever wondered what these flat marble plates, reminiscent of chopping boards, are?

They're the bases of Victorian/Edwardian "Immortelles" that once held fragile memorial ornaments under a glass dome. Not many now survive intact...

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

Agreed! :-(

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely, although apparently local children were terrified of it! You could see the recumbent stone figure through the wall panels and kids would dare each other to go up to (or later, inside) the tomb. Its demolition was a huge loss to the cemetery. :-(

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

Sadly the tomb was badly vandalised and was demolished in the late 1980s. However the Friends of Warriston Cemetery continue to plant red flowers in the remaining footprint of the grave to memorialise both the life of Robertson and her long lost tomb. #Edinburgh #Tombs #TheRedLady #Taphophile

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Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 1d

#31DaysOfGraves day 8 - glass. Arguably the most famous tomb despite its current state, the "Red Lady" (officially the Robertson mortuary chapel) was erected in 1865 for Mary Ann Robertson (1826–1858). The original red glass roof allowed red coloured daylight to flicker on the stone figure inside.

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🥀🪦 @graveyardgirly.bsky.social · 2d

Day 6: Gender
#31daysofgraves

Radclyffe Hall, also known as John is buried near by in the circle of Lebanon, in Highgate Cemetery, London.

As always, more information in the alt text.

A quiet, atmospheric path curves through a row of grand, weathered stone mausoleums in the Circle of Lebanon at Highgate Cemetery, London. The tombs, built into the hillside, feature classical architectural details such as columns, pediments, and carved inscriptions. Moss and ivy cling to the old stone, and a soft green carpet of grass borders the gravel walkway. The air feels still and reverent beneath the shelter of overhanging trees.

This photograph depicts the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate Cemetery (West), one of London’s most historic and architecturally remarkable burial grounds. Opened in 1839, Highgate is known for its elaborate Victorian funerary art, Egyptian- and Greek-inspired architecture, and as the resting place of many notable figures.

Among those interred here is Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) an English author best known for The Well of Loneliness (1928), a groundbreaking novel in LGBTQ+ history. The book, which depicted the life and struggles of a lesbian protagonist, was the subject of an obscenity trial in Britain, leading to its ban at the time. Despite the controversy, Hall’s work became a cornerstone of queer literary heritage, and they are remembered today as a pioneering figure for visibility and representation.

Hall was buried alongside their partner Una Troubridge, an artist and sculptor, reflecting their lifelong companionship. Their tomb is located in the West Cemetery, not far from the area shown in the image. a serene and deeply symbolic space that continues to draw visitors interested in both literary and LGBTQ+ history.

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Katie Crane @ohfolkthat.bsky.social · 3d

#31DaysOfGraves
Day 6 - Gender

Emmeline Pankhurst was a suffragette, founding the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. Her pallbearers were fellow WSPU suffragettes.

Brompton Cemetery, London

A talll celtic cross style gravestone. The top features a hand and two angels carrying an urn and some draped fabric. Below that is the figure of a woman with a halo. There is an art deco or art nouveau feel about the imagery. The base of the gravestone has a Votes for Women banner tied around it, some flowers, and a Welsh flag. This gravestone is in Brompton Cemetery, London

The inscription reads:

In loving memory of
Emmeline Pankhurst
Wife of
R. M. Pankhurst LLD
At rest
June 14, 1928

A photo of Emmeline Pankhurst. She sits on a wooden chair, staring at the camera, one hand on her lap, the other down by her side away from the camera. She is wearing high collared blouse with decorative buttons and a bow tie. This photo was taken in 1913.

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Katie Crane @ohfolkthat.bsky.social · 5d

#31DaysOfGraves
Day 5 - Bird

I am the swift
Uplifting rush of
Quiet birds in
Circled flight

This commemorates the orphans of Dr Barnardo's orphanages who died in childhood and 3 of Dr Barnardo's own children. The bird is a cockney sparrow.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, London

A large sculptural gravestone in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, London. The top of the gravestone is shaped like two hands releasing a cockney sparrow. The inscription on the grave reads:

I am the swift
Uplifting rush of
Quiet birds in
Circled flight

Remembering
Dr. Barnardo's children
Laid here to rest

Somewhat obscured by grass at the based of the gravestone it reads:

And his beloved sons
Tom died 1882 aged 5 months
Herbert died 1885 aged 9 years
Kenward died 1890 aged 12 years

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Friends of West Norwood Cemetery (FOWNC) @fownc1837.bsky.social · 3d

**Tonight** 7th October
Dr Jane Jordan’s talk at St Leonard’s Church, Tooting Bec Gardens, Streatham 7:30pm. No need to book.
Before Windrush and Beyond: Recovering Black History at West Norwood Cemetery. #Blackhistory

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