Post by Lynn and Paul Henni.
The Victorian Dean Cemetery is still in use and is a favourite tranquil shortcut to the Dean Gallery. It is one of the first cemeteries in Edinburgh to be laid out in formal lines – it is also pretty photogenic.
This statue caught my eye from over the wall in the grounds of the Dean Gallery – she rose up from the trees dwarfing the smaller tombstones around.
Paul caught in the act snapping this fine fella below, the Reverent Francis Gillies, buried in 1862 and lying alongside 2 daughters, 2 sons, 2 wives and a son-in-law.
In the next shot, my eye was drawn to the angles and contrasts of light and dark – there’s a poignancy to the small cross sitting neatly between the taller ones.
Paul was attracted by this sculpture of unknown deceased which stands proud unlike many of the more 2 dimensional relief memorials.
We would recommend anyone wandering around that part of Edinburgh with an interest in local history stops for a nosey – many famous Edinburgers lie in rest here – Elsie Inglis, innovative doctor and suffragist; David Octavious Hill, painter and arts activist, and, with Robert Adamson, a pioneer many aspects of photography in Scotland.; and William Henry Playfair, one of the greatest 19th century Scottish architects whose influence is seen all over Edinburgh’s New Town (often to be seen in henni.photo work).
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