The dating of graveyard memorials: evidence from the stones

Abstract

The complexities involved in deciding the date of erection of graveyard memorials are discussed within the context of British, Irish and North American evidence. The factors involved in deciding the inscriptional phasing of a memorial are outlined, using examples from a wide range of burial grounds. A terminology is proposed to aid the identification of the primary inscription or commemoration, and the subsequent inscriptional events. A group of graveyard memorials from County Louth, Ireland, state the date of erection, and this is compared with the latest date of death in the primary commemoration on these stones. The value of closely dated stones is indicated through an examination of one form of headstone and two decorative schemes which were popular in County Louth. The study concludes that most external memorials can be dated to within a decade of the latest death mentioned in the primary inscription, but that some monuments were erected earlier or later. Such exceptions were relatively common in the 18th century, but became rare during the 19th century. The temporal dimension in the commissioning and erection of graveyard memorials is thus explored and clarified.