The first place we visited on our trip was Tundergarth and it was a lovely place to start.
Tundergarth
is a rural village in Scotland, not that far from the border with England. I
use the term “village” loosely as it is so rural there are just a few farm
cottages scattered amongst rolling hills. I knew before we visited that it was
rural, but I hadn’t really considered how
rural until I was there. I’m a town girl and as the taxi drove the three miles
from the nearest town to Tundergarth parish church, I will admit that I did
start to worry we would not be able to call a taxi to come back again – you
could see nothing for miles except open beautiful Scottish countryside.
The
parish church that stands now was built in 1900 on and beside the ruins of a
much older church, and the immaculately kept churchyard has many 18th and early 19th century headstones including one in particular that I had come to see.
The picturesque Tundergarth parish church
My
5 x great grandfather, William Graham, is buried at Tundergarth along with
several of his relatives. William was a tenant farmer in Tundergarth and he died in 1827. The family spent a long time
in Tundergarth and the area of Dumfries around it before moving on to the North
East of England, probably in search of work.
Like
many of the graves, weathering has made some of the inscription difficult to
read on the family grave but with a bit of perseverance (and a monumental inscription recorded previously) you can make out the
following:
"William Graham, tenant in Mosshead, who died March 12th 1827, aged 83 years. Also Mary Johnstone, who died 12th April 1847, aged 87 years. Also James Graham, son to William Graham, in Mosshead, who died August 21st 1792, aged 6 weeks. Also Mary Graham, sister to the above, who died at Mosshead, January 11th 1817, aged 667 years. Also William Graham, son to John Graham in Mosshead, who died 13th February 1837, aged 11 months. Also the above John Graham, who died 6th March 1869, aged 86 years"
As
I stood at the grave of my ancestor who lived nearly 300 years ago and farmed
the land around me, I felt an amazing sense of belonging. The connection
between then and now felt stronger, and I could imagine William’s family
standing where I now stood when they buried him.
Additional info on Tundergarth
Me at the grave of William Graham (1744 to 1827) and family, Tundergarth churchyard
Additional info on Tundergarth
As
well as the ancestral pull, Tundergarth has its own charm – an idyllic,
peaceful piece of rural calm. As we stood in the graveyard, there was no noise
except birdsong and the odd “Baaaaaa” from the sheep in the field next to the
church. Beautiful on any day, it was especially beautiful on a warm summer’s
morning as it bathed in sunlight. It is difficult to imagine that anything
could shatter the calmness felt there, but it has seen tragedy a rural parish
of it’s size should never see.
I
mentioned earlier that Tundergarth is three miles from the nearest town. The
town is Lockerbie.
There is a "memorial room" in the Tundergarth churchyard. A former stone watch room, it has been renovated as a memorial to those who died in the disaster and we visited for some quiet contemplation. There is also a visitors centre at Dryfesdale cemetery, just a few miles away which tells the story of both the Lockerbie air disaster and the wider history of Lockerbie. Dryfesdale Cemetery is also home to the Lockerbie Air Disaster Memorial and Garden of Remembrance, which we also visited. The list of names on the memorial is heartbreaking - there are so many, it looks like a war memorial.
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