Old Calton Cemetery from Calton Hill, Edinburgh
by Yvonne Johnstone
Title
Old Calton Cemetery from Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Artist
Yvonne Johnstone
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
View over the Old Calton Cemetery (Old Calton Burial Ground) from Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland.
The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Scots, including philosopher David Hume, scientist John Playfair, rival publishers William Blackwood and Archibald Constable, and clergyman Dr Robert Candlish. It is also the site of the Political Martyrs' Monument, an obelisk erected to the memory of a number of political reformers, and Scotland's American Civil War Memorial.
The huge obelisk (designed by Thomas Hamilton buried just behind), clearly visible from many central Edinburgh viewpoints, is the focal point of Old Calton Burial Ground, and was erected in the memory of The Friends of the People, an early universal suffrage movement, who were brought to trial and sentenced to 14 years' deportation.
Their true crime in the eyes of the judges was to push for universal suffrage, and the rights of the common man to control his destiny, i.e. voting rights for all, not just landowners. The men became known as the Chartist Martyrs. Thomas Muir of Huntershill was their leading figure, and he, along with four others who followed him, were banished to Botany Bay in Australia on 30 August 1793.
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 eventually brought about their aim, and the men were pardoned in 1838.
Uploaded
June 11th, 2019
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