ST ANDREW’S CHURCHYARD:
Exploring environmental and other impacts on urban gravestones
St Andrew’s Church is located on Newgate Street, and is the oldest of the city’s churches. The present building was begun in the twelfth century, and the last addition to it (the main porch) was made in 1726. The graveyard contains many fine headstones, dating mainly from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A survey of the graveyard was carried out in 1884, and the inscriptions (though not the imagery) on every stone in the churchyard was transcribed at that time. In 1884 there were 340 gravestones in the churchyard. Today, there are around 150, and the wording on many of these is illegible, or deteriorating. The aim of this project will be to compare the churchyard today with that of 1884, and to determine the factors behind the loss and deterioration of headstones between 1884 and the present day. Environmental degradation is obviously an issue here (as is the loss of ground to building work, and the removal of fallen gravestones), but one aim of the project will be to explore the potential impact of social factors upon gravestone removal. For example: did the social standing of particular individuals or families ensure that gravestones bearing their name were not removed?
A detailed survey of the churchyard will need to be undertaken for this project. This will involve recording the remaining headstones, and undertaking a plane table survey of the churchyard (to map the position of surviving stones). Students from the University Archaeology Society will help with this aspect of the project, under the direction of Jane Webster (School of Historical Studies). Permission to undertake the work has already been obtained from the Rev. Glyn Evans.
More information on how to record graveyards can be found at http://www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk/recording.shtml
This project is suitable for either an undergraduate dissertation, or for an MA dissertation – the latter would incorporate genealogical research on specific individuals buried at St Andrews. You can find more information on the parish records at : http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/Newcastle/StAndrews/ChurchRecords.html
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