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Lorraine

@wolfq4.bsky.social

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archivisthistoryblog.wordpress.com

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · Nov 9

Hello from a newbie 👋
I'm interested in architectural history, fashion history, interiors, the built environment, cemeteries, 16/17th c. West of Scotland witchcraft, and pretty much everything in-between.
I also write a blog archivisthistoryblog.wordpress.com/home/
Feel free to say hi!

Home

Welcome to the Archivist History Blog I am a professional Archivist interested in documenting the stories of people, events, buildings and places. I am also a Historian, althoug…

archivisthistoryblog.wordpress.com

Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 11h

Today's #31DaysOfGraves topic is #hand
This gravestone shows a hand holding a scroll which has recorded info about those interred below. Inverted torches signify life extinguished, but also light the way to salvation in the afterlife for the soul
#Glasgow
#TaphophileThursday
#MementoMori
#cemetery

Barclay family memorial at Glasgow Necropolis.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

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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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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 1d

Day 8 of #31daysofgraves is #glass
The #grave of Irish author and poet Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) in Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
From 1914, in "Egyptian style".
Visitors would leave lipstick 💋 so it is now covered by glass to protect the stonework
#Egyptophile
#Taphophile
#skystorians
#darktourism

The grave of Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise, Paris.
Designed by sculptor Jacob Epstein in 1914.
The epitaph reads, "And alien tears will fill for him, Pity's long-broken urn, For his mourners will be outcast men, And outcasts always mourn" taken Wilde's poem "The Sphinx" from 1894.
Egyptomania was a popular cultural phenomenon throughout the 19th century, especially in the Napoleonic era and again in the 1920s after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter.
The glass barrier was put in place in 2014 to protect the stone from damage caused by the lipstick.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray c.2006

Detail showing the glass barrier to protect the stonework which was put in place around a decade ago

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 2d

Seems like a good time to share this starter pack for anyone following or taking part in @annaandthedead.bsky.social #31DaysOfGraves campaign
It was put together a while ago, and I'm sure there are lots of other accounts that could be added! Let me know
#MementoMori
#skystorians
go.bsky.app/KGLpmwp

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Bruderherz @trailchaser.bsky.social · 3d

'Dinge die mit "H" beginnen ...' #FotoVorschlag

Hedy Lamarr, Schauspielerinn, Erfinderin

#31DaysOfGraves 06 Geschlecht / Gender

In Parkähnlicher Anlage eine Skluptur aus Stahlstäben senkrecht mit aufgesetzten Kugeln, die das Gesicht einer Frau darstellen. Davor, direkt auf Rasen, eine helle Steintafel. Diese weiderholt das Punktmuster der Skulptur, darunter Text "Films have a certain place in an certain time period. Technology is forever. / Hedy Lamarr / Actress. Inventor / 1914 Vienna / 2000 USA".

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 2d

The family grave of Dykes / Cunningham in Neilston Parish #Cemetery in Barrhead for day 7 of #31DaysOfGraves
This lovely #angel figure has a #star atop her head and is holding flowers and looking down in sadness to those buried below
#TaphophileTuesday
#MementoMori
#Skystorians
#Grave
#darktourism

Figurative angel sculpture on the Dykes / Cunningham family memorial in Neilston Parish Cemetery in Barrhead
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

#31DaysOfGraves theme list by @annaandthedead

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 3d

“Ridicule is the only honourable weapon we have left”

—Muriel Spark, from her 1970 speech “The Desegregation of Art”, given at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, New York – republished in THE INTERNATIONAL COMPANION TO THE SCOTTISH NOVEL (2025), ed. Cairns Craig (2025) 👇

Ridicule is the only honourable weapon we have left.

We have all seen on the television those documentaries of the ’thirties and of the second World War, where Hitler and his goose-stepping troops advance in their course of liberating, as they called it, some city, some country or other; we have seen the strutting and posturing of Mussolini. It looks like something out of comic opera to us. If the massed populations of those times and in those countries had been moved to break up into helpless laughter at the sight, those tyrants wouldn’t have had a chance. And I say we should all be conditioned and educated to regard violence in any form as something to be ruthlessly mocked.

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 3d

Day 6 theme #31DaysOfGraves
This wonderful memorial to the Allan family in the #Glasgow Necropolis depicts 2 somewhat androgynous looking angels - 1 of each #gender - flanking the (now missing) central epitaph or portrait in a gesture of protection
#skystorians
#sculpture
#cemetery
#Taphophile

Memorial to Alexander Allan (1825-1892) and his family in the Glasgow Necropolis in compartment (section) Zeta.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 4d

Day 5 #31DaysOfGraves theme is #bird & both stelae are family monuments
The 1st shows a #Dove of peace symbolising the soul ascending on a 19th c stone from Neilston Parish Cemetery. The 2nd shows a #Rook resting on a 20th c design in St Convals Cemetery, both in Barrhead
#skystorians
#darktourism

Dove decoration on a 19th century gravestone in Neilston Parish Church in Barrhead for Jessie Falconer of Craighead and her family, including husband John Pollock, their 3 daughters, son and Aunt

Rook resting on the 20th century gravestone of Annie Meechan and her husband James Feeley in St Conval's Catholic cemetery in Barrhead

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Interview With The Vampire Fanpage @iwtvupdates.bsky.social · 5d

Happy Birthday to Anne Rice, the brilliant mind behind The Vampire Chronicles! She would have been 84 today.

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 5d

Day 4 #31DaysOfGraves theme is #languages
Monument commemorating Author Quintin Craufurd in his birth town of Kilwinning.
He died in Paris and is buried at Pere Lachaise.
The base says "Mors Festinat" (death hastens) "Tempus Forat" (time is running out) & "Memento Mori"

Monument to Author Quintin Craufurd (1743- 1819) in his birth town Kilwinning.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

Detail from the monument to Author Quintin Craufurd (1743- 1819) in his birth town Kilwinning.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 6d

Different family but lovely monument

Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 6d

Edit: typo. Should read, Sir James! 🫣 John was his father.
James (1857-1944) was a businessman and philanthropist in #Glasgow
#31DaysOfGraves

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Confusion 🧠 @neocortex.bsky.social · 7d

#31DaysOfGraves
Day 3: TOMB -
in form of a sarcophagus. Completely overgrown with rhododendrons.
I had to crawl into to undergrowth and found no inscription.
Ostfriedhof / Ostpark (established in 1876)

📍
#Dortmund
#Ruhrgebiet
#Germany

The tomb is in the form of a sarcophagus with a crown made of light, weathered stone. It's completely overgrown with rhododendrons. There are autumn leaves everywhere.

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 6d

Do you have info about how to join / attend the webinar? Sounds interesting! I visited "Ruglan" cemetery earlier this year despite passing it loads of time!

Reposted by Lorraine

Turnstone Genealogy - Jane Barton @turnstonegenie.bsky.social · 6d

I'm taking part in #31DaysOfGraves this month. I'll also be talking about my #OnePlaceStudy of #RutherglenCemetery at the Society's monthly webinar on Tues 14th Oct so if you're thinking about a cemetery #OPS, why not join up and join in.

Society for One-Place Studies @oneplacestudies.bsky.social · 7d

Loving all the #31DaysOfGraves posts, and not just because we’re seeing some from #OnePlaceStudies (or because a cemetery / burial ground can be a #OnePlaceStudy in itself)! It’s only Day 2, so not too late to take part. #GenHour

Anna Fairley Nielsson @annaandthedead.bsky.social · 24d

REPOST (error in first post!)
Get ready! October 1st is the start of a month of gravestone and burial ground pictures, with a different prompt for each day. Be creative, there are no rules, just tag with #31DaysOfGraves!
Background image is from King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.

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@dianeechambers @dianeechambers.bsky.social · 6d

#31DaysofGraves
Day 3 Tomb
Highgate Cemetery 📍

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 6d

Today's #31DaysOfGraves theme is #tomb
This pink granite tomb from Glasgow Necropolis is the grave of Lady Catherine French MacFarlane, (d. 1936) her husband Sir John & children Mary, Martha & Robert. It also commemorates family buried at the eastern Necropolis & elsewhere.
#DarkTourist
#Taphophile

Photo of the French / MacFarlane tomb in Zeta section in the Glasgow Necropolis.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 7d

It is sadly quite common when it comes to copper / metal plaques here. In the Glasgow Necropolis, this has happened too and many plaques are now replaced by replicas of resin, fibreglass, or similar which looks the same and are often painted in verdigris. You can only tell by tapping the surface.

Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 7d

The plaque is made of metal, so it was prised off in the hope of selling it for scrap metal value. Read the story here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scot...

Captain's stolen plaque returned to Greenock

A plaque which was stolen from the grave of a 19th Century sea captain is restored and returned to Greenock.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Simon Knott @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social · 7d

A sailing ship under a stormy sky flanked by a skull and crossed bones, on the headstone for Elizabeth Archer, 1781, at Walberswick, Suffolk

#31daysofgraves 2: nautical

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 7d

Or #nautical even 🫣
#31DaysOfGraves

Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 7d

The theme of day 2 of #31DaysOfGraves is #nautica
The #anchor motif on a grave often signifies a sailor.
This grave is for Captain Donald Brotchie, who moved to Greenock in the 1850s and remained there till he died. The plaque was stolen but recovered in 2018
#Taphophile
#Cemetery
#DarkTourism

Photo of Captain Brotchie's grave in Greenock Cemetery who died 23rd February 1889.
Photo credit: Lorraine Murray

Photo by Lorraine Murray 2018
The missing plaque from the grave was stolen & recovered by police. It is now in the collections of the McLean Museum / Watt Institution.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43951809

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 8d

Happy #October, my favourite month of the year!
And the start of #31DaysOfGraves
Today's theme is #flower
This stone from #Glasgow Necropolis for James Crawford and family has two sets of three flowers - stylised bell blooms and roses to represent the temporary nature of life.
#Skystorians

Gravestone from Glasgow Necropolis. Photo by Lorraine Murray 2025

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Lorraine @wolfq4.bsky.social · 9d

Nice visit to Glasgow Cathedral yesterday to view the Blacader Prayer book on loan from The National Library of Scotland, to mark #Glasgow850 & the NLS centenary.
A digitised version can be seen here: share.google/EG9I9Gd4Xxka...

#skystorians
#Scotland #history
@natlibscot.bsky.social

Blacader Prayer book in Glasgow Cathedral

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