In Search of Gravestones Old and Curious

the earlier forms in which the ruder class of masons prepared their sculptured monuments for the churchyard. There is little doubt that the practice originated in an endeavour to

er enlightenment furnish really admirable work of much prior date. Take, for instance, that most frequent emblem, the skull. I have not sought for the model by which the village sculptor worked, but I have

FRANKFORT

at the carver of the stately tomb within the church had no hand in the execution of the outer gravestone; but that quite early there were able masons emp

-AT EAST

ydia, the two w

ied 18th Nov.

h 17

early period; but the high road from London to Dover runs through the parish, and may have carried early cultivation into the district. All the rougher illustrations which I have found have been in remot

1.-AT

ons of Will. De

09, aged 2 w

5 ye

for this and all others of the class are incised, simply scratched or cut into the stone; nothing so poor in drawing have I ever found which has risen to the eminence of relief. It may, of course, be also surmised that the face here cut into

e by dwarfishness and clumsiness. They are seldom more than 2 feet in height, and are often found to measure from 5 inches to 7 inches in thickness. A prolific field for them is the great marshland forming the Hundred of Hoo, below Gravesend, the scene of many incidents i

IECE.-AT

es, died June

yea

by a head or skull, but by two hearts meetin

xemplifications of masonic inco

T HOO, NEA

tt, Yeoman, di

70 ye

Ridley specimen, but, whatever it be, the teeth

e inartistic design. It marks one of the very rare e

a fashion of the period, but they are met with in other places of various conformations. There i

3.-AT

eventeenth century, and the mode of descri

and has only of late been penetrat

men, in which we see the crossbones as an addition to the "skull," if

-AT HIGH

er." The date

milar stone c

6

ke a mask rather than a death's head, but making its purpose clear by the

.-AT FR

David Jones,

osing a skull to be intended, the inspiration of the bones appears not to h

6.-AT

urst, died 5th

d 6

iginals are to be found in the neighbouring churchyards of Shorne and Chalk, two rural parishes on the Rochester Road, and exhibit with all the fidelity possible the craftsmanship of the village sculptors. They will doubtless also excite some speculation as to their m

the radial lines on the crown are supposed to be is again conjecture. Perhaps a nimbus, perhaps hair or a cap, or merely an ornam

The strange feature in this case is the zig-zag "toothing" which is employed to represent the jaws. D

fact all the features-are evidently unassisted studies from the living, not the dead, frontispiece of humanity; but what are the serifs, or projections, on either side? Won

which we find many examples. It is dedicated to one Grinhill (probably

ted. The stone records that Mary, wife of Thomas Jackson, died in 1730, aged 43 years. It is one of the double tombstones frequently met with in Kent and some othe

culiarities. It ought, however, to be said that these primitive carvings or scratchings are not often conspicuous, and generally require some seeking. They are always on a small scale of drawing, in nearly every instance within the diminished curve of the most antiquated form of headstone (such as is shewn in the Frontispiece), and as a rule they are overgrown with lichen, which has to be rubbed off before the lines are visible. It may safely be averred, on the other hand, that the

8.-AT

des, died 1728,

ese incised stones are to be discovered by hundreds, very much of one type perhaps, but displaying neverthe

g became general, grossness of idea seems to have survived in many rural parishes. One speci

.-AT ST

ck, died 1751,

specially if we consider the difficulty which met the workmen in having to avoid giving t

.-AT OL

ll, died 1710,

probably typifi

.-AT CR

ngton, died De

fourty

by the torch, which when elevated signifies the rising sun, and when depressed the setting sun. The t

.-AT SH

of Thomas and

754, aged 10

one of the death's head

.-AT LE

ens, died May

yea

for the presence of a lower jaw, which is seldom seen on a gravestone. The skull turned up by the sexton is usually the typical object, and to t

4.-AT

ibson, whipma

, aged 4

the record of a well-spent life

which is also, in all probability, the only instance of

.-AT TE

is, died June

yea

fy glory, and associated with foliage and flowers in token of th

.-AT FI

arlett, died J

is, considering the dat

-AT FARN

tow, died 1744,

additaments may conclude this chapter. The cu

-AT CHIS

rated; date

ls in the next example

9.-AT

sen, died 1771,

s prototype in the old churchyar

-AT WEST

Whiffen, die

ear

kulls present the appearance of hav

1.-AT

eetwood, died

15 mo