Greyfriars Kirkyard

Edinburgh

Greyfriars Kirkyard is a world-famous and locally-loved historic graveyard. It is the second most popular free tourist attraction in the whole of Scotland. Ground for the graveyard was gifted by Mary Queen of Scots to the people of Edinburgh in 1561 and it was laid out on the site of a former Franciscan Friary. It contains the nation's finest collection of 17th and 18th century stone carvings and monuments, created by the leading architects and craftsmen of the day. The museum quality collection of tombs is located within an award-winning greenspace, with links to historic events of national importance and the popular cultural interests of Greyfriars Bobby and Harry Potter.

 

Activities 

Facilitated on-site workshops will investigate the key issues involved in developing a new strategy to care for Greyfriars Kirkyard. Questions will include:

• How can we balance the different roles Greyfriars Kirkyard might play, for example, as a tourist attraction, community amenity, educational resource, urban greenspace, setting for the church and as a spiritual place?
• Should the Covenanters’ Prison be locked - what are the pros and cons?
• What is the value of memorials when they have decayed to such an extent that we can no longer see the carvings or read the lettering?

The visit will involve 2 parts – a visit to the Covenanters’ Prison, which is usually locked, and an in-depth look at some of the most important 17^th century monuments on site, which we will compare to historic images and recent 3D digital models ( personal mobile smartphone are needed to access digital models during the visit).

Facilities

• Limited Access