Valley Cemetery Free Space page

Date: 1857 [unknown]
Location: Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Surnames/tags: Cemeteries Scotland

Valley Cemetery

Also known as Mars Wark's Cemetery.

Information from Find-a-Grave:
The A-listed Valley Cemetery occupies a commanding position above the town of Stirling, between Ladies' Rock and Stirling Castle, in an area was once used for Royal tournaments, sporting events, markets and horse fairs. During the 1745 Rebellion this was the site of Jacobite batteries.

The cemetery was created as an extension of the Holy Rude Kirkyard which was badly overcrowded such that the excavation of new graves regularly disturbed older burials. The initiative for a new cemetery was taken by Rev. Charles Rodgers, the Chaplain of Stirling Castle, along with Provost William Rankin, nurseryman and philanthropist William Drummond and his brother Peter. Valley Cemetery was laid out by Peddie & Kinnear and opened in 1857 and was quickly extended into the adjacent Mar’s Walk Garden. It gave carriage access to every plot. Each grave was to be used only once.

The Star Pyramid is a monument that attracts the eye and is close to Stirling Castle. It is a striking stone memorial erected to remember the martyrs of the Scottish Reformation and Covenanting Era. Located to the southeast of Stirling Castle, it is on the boundary between Drummond Pleasure Ground and the Valley Cemetery. It was commissioned by William Drummond around 1863 and built in the same year by a well-known local stone mason and sculpture, William Barclay. It is also known as the Martyrs Monument and occasionally as Salem Rock.

Notable Interments

• Charles Henry Greig, architect of Craig House Asylum in 1889.

Links

• Find-a-Grave - this has 188 entries.
• Old Town Cemetery website