Publication Info
Publication Details
Introduction
In February 2024, the Publications Department advised that stock of the Monymusk MIs was running low, and that a reprint was needed. This would normally been a simple matter, but it then emerged that the Monymusk master file was hopelessly muddled, having been subject to multiple revisions. “Too many cooks had spoiled the broth”. This Revised Edition attempts to impose some order on the text. The inscriptions were initially recorded around 1986 by James M. Shewan, but his work was then shoehorned into a format which imposed a system of abbreviations and standardised date formats, and omitted any Biblical references or pious sentiments. It would appear that this was done without Mr Shewan’s approval, as a note (tucked away at the back of the booklet) apologises to him for the changes. For recording purposes, the kirkyard was divided into in two parts, identified as “Upper” and “Lower” - but any difference in altitude is very slight. The “Upper” (and older) part lies immediately to the south of the church; the “Lower” part lies further east, the two parts being separated by a grassed-over path, which leads to a gate in the kirkyard wall. In 2009, Monymusk was the site of one of ANESFHS’s summer “Graveyard Outings”. This yielded a number of corrections to the original reading, along with a small number of new stones, as well as additions to existing inscriptions. Finally, at some point, the inscriptions on a number of additional stones were recorded. There were two groups forming “stockades” around two large trees in the SW corner of the kirkyard, and a further group lined up against the church wall. Most of these bore only pairs of initials, and have been omitted from the current revised edition. Those which do include full names are in a separate table following the Upper Section (“A”). The original edition had separate indexes for the Upper (“A”) and Lower (“B”) sections of the kirkyard, but omitted the “Tree” and “Church Wall” stones. All parts have now all been combined into a single index. Gavin Bell MI Co-ordinator March 2024
Comments
Monymusk Old Kirkyard, naming 1303 individuals between 1705 and 2002
