Details of the monument you have selected are shown below. Click on the image(s) of the monument (at the bottom of the page) to view a larger version (opens in new window). Please allow a few moments for the larger version to load; although every effort has been made to ensure the large images download quickly, internet speeds may vary depending on connection speeds. Click here to go back to your search results.
Monument Inscription
Has no inscription
Family History
This most unusual monument, of which only a small portion exists, is unique within the kirkyard as being the only known one constructed of this material.
Constructed of cast-iron, the monument would have been of an elaborate pattern selected from a book of patterns made available by the foundry responsible for its making. A stone face plate, usually marble, was affixed to the front of the iron monument on which details of the inscription were placed.
In this case only the base of the monument survives and shows that its construction was carried out by a firm called the Sun Foundry. This firm, founded in 1858, had its foundry premises at 64 Port Dundas Road in Glasgow with showrooms in Bath Street. The owner of the company George Smith expanded the business until they had agents in London, Liverpool and Dublin. Specialising initially in cast iron sanitary ware they branched out into what they described as ‘Artistic Iron Founders’. Responsible for many of the public drinking fountains then common on city streets, they also created shelters and other street furniture out of cast iron.
With only this fragment available it is not possible to identify the individual who had taken the risk of trying out the new fashion in gravestones. The fashion did not survive for long as they were found to be fragile if struck, with the additional hazard of rusting. The company ceased trading in 1899.