This is another document I wrote as part of my University course – it is called:
Away with the Fairies: Folklore and Mental Health in the Scottish Highlands
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Continuity and Change in Scottish Death and Burial Customs, 1875–2025
This is a research document I prepared for my University Course about Culture and Heritage. I researched “Continuity and Change in Scottish Death and Burial Customs, 1875–2025”. I used headstones in cemeteries in Kilbirnie as examples, as well as family stories. There’s pictures in the appendices.
Random Old Cemetery PIcs
I was down in Kilbirnie this week and took some random pictures of graves in the Kilbirnie Cemeteries:
Old Knox Grave behind the kirk. I will add these to the Knox Section.
Francis Cowan – a 20 year old KIlled in a freak accident in the Steel Works
Bell/McKelvie/McTaggart
Crawford Mausoleum
McKelvie, Bell, McTaggart
Francis Cowan, 1920
Crawford Mausoleum
Lord and Lady Crawford statues
Robert Knox, Agnes Barclay
Robert Knox, Agnes Barclay
George, Janet, Robert, Hugh Knox
William Knox, Jean Knox
RW Knox Monument
RW Knox Monument
Maureen Dempsey Higgins
Random picture of a lady I knew in Dublin in the 1990s called Maureen Dempsey Higgins.You can read the life story of her brother Charlie, growing up in Dublin here
Beith Head Street Burial Records 1854-1900
As you might know, there was a Church in Beith, Head Street which became a cinema, Orange Hall and latterly a Boys Brigade Hall, it has/had a cemetery around it.
Records of burials and lair occupancy.
The first half of the booklet contains the names of people who were buried, the second half contains names of people buried in each lair.
click here to download the booklet as a zip file from archive.org
Lochwinnoch Churches
Lochwinnoch Calder Church
Lochwinnoch Parish Church now closed:
Beith Auld Kirk pictures
These pictures of the inside and outside of Beith Auld Kirk are very striking. The first line of pictures show a monument
One version of the story tells me that this is a monument which was installed up at Spiers School. After that was demolished in the 70s the monument was removed and placed behind the Kirk in 1985…. in the Kirk yard where you can still see them today. Another person told me these were actually from Gielsland House and are called “the Gielsand marbles”.
If you know the history of these, please let me know.
Glengarnock Steel 1939 – Robert Mathews
Mr Robert Mathews is presented with a gift for his wedding:
Glengarnock Steel Works Magazine May 1925 – Daniel McBeth
Report on the death of Daniel McBeth.
John Durney and James Hill are also photographed.
General Mathew of Place – Death Intimation
This is from the newspaper “The Scotsman” dated August the 4th 1932.
This is the man who unveiled the War memorial and was something of a war hero locally and nationally. He was married to Lady Janet Muir Knox and lived at Place House, across from the Golf course which was demolished some years back. If you want to know more about him, you can click here https://josephmctaggart.org/major-general-sir-charles-mathew/
They are both buried in the family vault – if you go the the huge imposing Knox monument in Kilbirnie old cemetery you will find it just next to there. There is a huge headstone which resembles a birthday cake, which when moved opens up a huge vault underneath. Last I heard it was completely flooded inside. There are more details in the Knox section of this site.