St Trostan's Cemetery - Westfield

[attielattie]

Something that has puzzled me for years - why does one of the gravestones in St Trostan's have the inscription "this grave not to be opened" or words to that effect? It's years since I was last there, so I can't remember the name on the grave, but I think the date on the stone was from the 19th century. My sister and I often wondered if the person had some disease. Any ideas fellow orgers? :confused

[Metalattakk]

Something that has puzzled me for years - why does one of the gravestones in St Trostan's have the inscription "this grave not to be opened" or words to that effect? It's years since I was last there, so I can't remember the name on the grave, but I think the date on the stone was from the 19th century. My sister and I often wondered if the person had some disease. Any ideas fellow orgers? :confused

You sure it's Westfield and not Ballachly?

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=34466

[laguna2]

No, there is one in the graveyard at Westfield that says that - and we also wondered if it was something to do with the disease the person had died of!

[anneoctober]

No, there is one in the graveyard at Westfield that says that - and we also wondered if it was something to do with the disease the person had died of!
Halloween is over Laguna2 ! Why you wanderin e graveyards?!:eek:

[Kodiak]

I have looked through the "Caithness Monumental Inscriptions" This is where every Grave Inscription pre 1885 is listed, the Graveyard where the Stone is and was produced for the Scottish Genealogy Society and edited by A.S.Cowper & I.Ross.

There is no listing in St Trostan's Graveyard with an inscription like this.

There is a Listing in the "Ballachly" Graveyard which says :-

9. "This grave never to be opened"

This is all it says about this grave.

[Kenneth]

Interesting subject!

[attielattie]

It's definitely St Trostan's at Westfield - that's where I used to live (though not in the graveyard :lol:). I've never been to Ballachly cemetery (actually not even sure where it is).
The inscription does sound quite macabre - you could almost imagine someone burying a suspected vampire :eek:, but I expect the answer is simply that the person died of an infectious disease.
If the grave wasn't to be opened due to the contents being valuable (jewellery etc), I think that saying it was not to be opened would be advertising the fact that it was worth digging up.
Oh well, thanks for the suggestions so far - I must go and visit again and check it out (anyone got a good shovel???:evil).

[Green_not_greed]

If its old enough it could have been a plague victim.

On the other hand, I like the buried treasure suggestion. It may be a race for the shovels!

[anneoctober]

If its old enough it could have been a plague victim.

On the other hand, I like the buried treasure suggestion. It may be a race for the shovels!
As your in Reay GnG my money's on you get there first...........[lol]

[attielattie]

I just have this image of us all meeting up one dark and stormy night, lanterns in hand and shovels at the ready [para]

[anneoctober]

I just have this image of us all meeting up one dark and stormy night, lanterns in hand and shovels at the ready

Am loving the thought o it all..................:evil.............attielattie - YOU'RE my favourite......................[lol]

[Aaldtimer]

I just have this image of us all meeting up one dark and stormy night, lanterns in hand and shovels at the ready [para]

Well don't forget the wooden stakes, mallets, silver bullets & crucifixes...jist in case lek! :eek:

[Kodiak]

It's definitely St Trostan's at Westfield - that's where I used to live (though not in the graveyard :lol:). I've never been to Ballachly cemetery (actually not even sure where it is).
The inscription does sound quite macabre - you could almost imagine someone burying a suspected vampire :eek:, but I expect the answer is simply that the person died of an infectious disease.
If the grave wasn't to be opened due to the contents being valuable (jewellery etc), I think that saying it was not to be opened would be advertising the fact that it was worth digging up.
Oh well, thanks for the suggestions so far - I must go and visit again and check it out (anyone got a good shovel???:evil).


I did not suggest that this gravestone was not there. All I said was that it was not ilisted in the "Caithness Monumental Inscriptions".

Since they only list Gravestones Pre 1885 it could be that this one is after that date.

[laguna2]

Halloween is over Laguna2 ! Why you wanderin e graveyards?!:eek:

:roll: Lookin fur inspiration anneoctober :lol:

[anneoctober]

:roll: Lookin fur inspiration anneoctober :lol:
Choost be warned that attielattie & GnG are headan ere as we speak wi thur shuvels............:eek:

[attielattie]

Sorry, no grave robbing tonight Anneoctober and the rest of you ghoulish folks - I couldna find a shovel! Poor excuse I know, but also had an exhausting encounter with a bottle of wine which has impaired my digging ability. Hope you're not all standing around the grave, laden down with shovels, garlic, crosses and all the paraphernalia. Where's Van Helsing when you need him?
My wee sis still lives in Westfield, so I will drag her along sometime for a deek at the gravestone. Forgot to mention, it was one of those flat ones - not a table type, just a flat stone. Obviously heavy enough to keep the vampire in [lol]

[anneoctober]

attielattie ! Have you no shame girl?? We all would willingly have turned up to share e wine you know...........[lol]

[MadPict]

Might be worthwhile having this inscribed on your headstone when you finally pop off...

Graves to be dug up so further coffins can be squeezed in amid shortage crisis (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1085741/Graves-dug-coffins-squeezed-amid-shortage-crisis.html)

[changilass]

They will have fun trying to dig up my remains - I am being cremated and my ashes scattered at sea.

[laguna2]

Sorry, no grave robbing tonight Anneoctober and the rest of you ghoulish folks - I couldna find a shovel! Poor excuse I know, but also had an exhausting encounter with a bottle of wine which has impaired my digging ability. Hope you're not all standing around the grave, laden down with shovels, garlic, crosses and all the paraphernalia. Where's Van Helsing when you need him?
My wee sis still lives in Westfield, so I will drag her along sometime for a deek at the gravestone. Forgot to mention, it was one of those flat ones - not a table type, just a flat stone. Obviously heavy enough to keep the vampire in [lol]

I waited and waited - twas scareeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy!!! :~(

[Scunner]

My ancestors are buried in St Trostans. I have been in touch with them, so be careful when you go in there with spades.

[anneoctober]

My ancestors are buried in St Trostans. I have been in touch with them, so be careful when you go in there with spades.
:eek:[para]

[laguna2]

:eyes[para] Can I sit with you anneoctober

[Foxy]

Most cemeteries have gravestones with do not open on them. There is one in Bower and it is only from 1901.

[attielattie]

Laguna2 - sorry I kept you waiting all by yourself in the spooky boneyard, but you should have been alright if you had been at the garlic bread and were wearing your crucifix.
Apologies also to anneoctober for my necking all the wine by myself - but it was collapse night (Friday) and my husband forced me to drink it! Well, that's my excuse.
I did try to persuade my sister to come on a wee trip to St Trostan's this afternoon, since the weather was so dry, but she said she was too busy cooking her neeps!! [smirk]
We will all have to organise a proper cemetery tour (open day??) one weekend when the weather's nice, so this could be next year.
Foxy, that's really interesting about the grave in Bower. To my mind putting "this grave never to be opened" is a wee bit like putting "whatever you do, don't press this" on a big red button in Chernobyl. Or is that just me? [lol] By the way, thanks for all the responses on this one.