Fact sheets Taking a closer look at….

It is suggested that one or two the following fact sheets are printed out and used as wall or poster displays or laminate and make available for students

The Fact sheets in this set include

1. What to look for on a headstone: A stele is….

2. Headstone design: Stele come in many shapes and sizes.

3. Headstone design: Crosses come in many forms.

4. Headstone design: Pedestals.

5. Why headstones are so different!

Memorials

Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone

A Stele is… a one-sided, upright, headstone

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Most headstones have a decoration or ornament that has meaning for the living and the deceased. This stele has a wreath. The circle shape of the wreath represents eternity and

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This stone inserted into the headstone is the ledger and contains the inscription or epitaph.

The inscription or epitaph usually begins with the words “Sacred to the memory of” or “In loving Memory of”.

Inscriptions will usually include date of death and age at death.

Sometimes inscriptions will include other information such as an accidental death, person s occupation, affiliations or war involvement.

Not all the names listed on an inscription will be buried here. Samuel Gourley was killed in the South African War in 1900.

Many family members are frequently shown on the inscription.

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4 The base stone is called the plinth and protects the more expensive headstone material from ground moisture. Some headstones have several plinths.

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Introducing the cemetery: Headstone design

Stelae come in many shapes and sizes

Stelae are a traditional form of memorial and were

popular in parish churchyards in Great Britain and

Ireland. They can be found in many shapes and sizes

from rectangular with domed, arched, pointed or

curved tops and are of an even thickness. They were

generally erected upright. Most stelae are made of

granite, marble or Oamaru stone and inscriptions are

completed with incised lettering or lead lettering in

marble stones. Some granite stones have incised lettering accented with gold or silver leaf.

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Gabled stele

Rectangular stele

Gothic shaped stele with side pillars

Gothic shaped stele with niche

Stylised domed stele

Arched stele (Chinese)

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Introducing the cemetery: Headstone design

Crosses come in many forms

Crosses can be found in many varieties. The most common

designs found in our cemeteries are the Latin Cross,

shaped like a t which is a plain form representing the Cross

on which Christ died, the Celtic cross which has a circular

shape joining the bars and the Greek cross shaped like a +

sign. Other forms of the cross are also represented.

Crosses can be erected as statues or they can be incised or carved into the memorial design.

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Latin cross

Celtic Cross

Stele with stylised Greek cross with flared arms ( as known as Maltese or Templar Cross).

Gabled stele with stylised cross

Glory cross (with sun s rays)

Stylised trinity cross

Orthodox or Russian Cross

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The advantage of a pedestal monument was that it offered a number of sides on which inscriptions could be made.

Pedestal styles were adapted from ancient Roman monuments similar to those found at Pompeii.

Pedestals generally had flat sides, and could be topped by a column, obelisk, urn or statuary such as an angel.

When reading inscriptions on pedestal monuments be careful you check all four sides for information. Often loved family members who died overseas were commemorated on the sides of these pedestals.

Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone.

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Pedestals

Obelisk

Broken Column

Pedestal topped by an Urn

Pedestal topped by statuary 4

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Stone and cement slabs set directly into the ground or sometimes into a base course could not exceed 6 inches above the ground. Kerbing was permitted, as was the inscription of the family name into the foot or headstone. Many slabs were embellished with corner stones or pebbles, others were turfed within the curbing and planted.

Introducing the cemetery: What to look for on a headstone.

Slabs and Tablets

A variety of slabs and tablets from the Northern and Southern cemeteries

In Victorian and Edwardian times, a family s financial status and standing in the community dictated the extent of grave ornamentation. In death, the lasting memorial to a person could convey his or her aspirations, even if they were not fully realised in life. Many early memorials in the Northern Cemetery are grand statements but as time moved on a more egalitarian approach to life, the high ideals of 19th century cemetery philosophy faded and simplicity pervaded the economy and scale of the monuments. (Betteridge 2005)

The cemetery regulations specified that only purchasers of Class I plots could exercise the privilege of “erecting headstones or other

monuments.” The tall obelisk pictured is an example of a Class 1 plot.

While those with class II plots were permitted to have a flat stone laid horizontally with an inscription or marked out by corner stones with

initials and figures. The surname plaque pictured is an example of a Class II plot. Many Class II plots never had memorials, of any kind, erected. Class III plots were often in inaccessible parts of the cemetery. The cost of the plots were,

1st Class

2nd Class

3rd class

Child £3.0.0 £2.17.6 12.6 Adult £3.0.0 £2. 7. 6 £1.2.6

Later headstones became much more simple in design as the two examples numbered 3a and 3b show.

In Area 5 students will come across all types of headstones. There is usually much less information on later headstones, which requires

investigation of online cemetery records to find out more.

Introducing the cemetery:

Why headstones are so different?

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3b

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Introducing the cemetery

Betteridge, C. (2005). Conservation Plans: Northern and Southern Cemeteries. Unpublished report for Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust of New Zealand.

Edgar, Philip G. (Dec 1995). Ideological choice in the gravestones of Dunedin's Southern Cemetery. A thesis submitted for a Master of Arts Degree, University of Otago.

Keister, D. (2004). Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography. Gibbs Smith Publisher. Salt Lake City.

Mytum H. (2000) Recording and Analysing Graveyards. Practical Handbook in Archeology 15. Council for British Archeology in Association with English Heritage.

Sagazio, C. (Ed)(1992) Cemeteries: Our Heritage. National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

Seaton, L. (2004) Timaru Cemetery: Messages in Stone. A Guide to the meanings of the symbols on headstones. South Canterbury Museum.

Resources: