memorials
Past and Present
As a stone sculptor and designer of contemporary
memorials, I am always drawn to churchyards and
cemeteries to look at old headstones and graves.
These traditional burial
grounds encompass the
rich social and economic
history of a village, town
or city and often exhibit
the finest artisan skills of
their day.
I recently visited Arnos Vale
Cemetery, located in a vast
wooded hillside near the centre
of Bristol. It’s packed with huge
ornate Victorian mausoleums,
graves and sculptures – an
historical document in stone,
if you will, recording the lives
of the great and good from
yesteryear. Arnos Vale truly is
a fascinating place to explore
and observe the grand public
gestures people made about
themselves or their family
members after death.
Generation upon generation
were laid to rest there in large
plots endorsing an unspoken
continuum. Most had always
lived in Bristol, held a
significant social standing
within the community and
felt the need to express their
worth - both as part of a larger
family and as Bristolians.
I have come to realise that
people today are looking
for very different ways to
commemorate life, compared
with these huge Victorian
edifices. Intimate objects
of mourning from the 19th
century - such as jewellery,
decorative objects or keepsakes
made from human hair and
jet – have more relevance to
the modern mindset. These
were private and individual
mementos – permanent and
precious physical reminders
of a person - and something
which could be passed down
through a family.
Many of us now lead a more
transitory lifestyle. Members
of the same family may live in
different parts of the country
By Kate Semple
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