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Warriston Cemetery |
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The Red Lady - Mary Ann Robertson
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England Photo taken around 1959
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© Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England Photo taken around 1959
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© Reproduced by courtesy of Evening News. Click here for web site details.
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The base of the tomb of the Red Lady - Mrs Mary Ann Robertson
© please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk Photograph taken July 26, 2010
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Shrine to Mary Ann Robertson |
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The Red Lady Thank you to Allan Dodds for allowing me me to reproduce Photos 1 and 2 above. Alan took this photo at Warriston Cemetery around 1959. Allan first sent me Photo 1 to me. Alan subsequently sent Photo 2 - the same image, but showing the colour that he remembers the 'Red Lady' to have been, seen through the side window with the light being filtered through the red glass in the roof. The ruby glass in the roof was later replaced by plain glass. The shrine that used to contain The Red Lady can be seen in Photo 3. Sadly, this shrine was subsequently destroyed by vandals. Photo 4 shows all that remained of the shrine when I visited Warriston Cemetery in 2010. |
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Acknowledgement: Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: Jan 28 + Feb 22, 2012 |
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Reply 1. Frank Ferri Newhaven, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Frank Ferri who wrote: |
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The Crypt "The Red Lady crypt at Warriston Cemetery got this colloquial name because its roof and side windows were glazed in red glass, giving off an eerie pink hue to the interior, quite creepy actually. It must have cost a fortune in its time." A Sad Sight Now "It's very sad to see the shrine in this condition (Photo 3). What satisfaction do kids get from this kind of wanton destruction? The last time I saw it, many years ago, the stone and glass crypt housing the tomb was still there, but all the glass was smashed and the graveyard was overgrown and was in a terrible state of neglect. It’s even sadder now to see the housing all gone. When I was a kid in the late-1940s, the grave site was still in perfect condition. My pals and I with a couple of girls would sometimes visit the site when it got dark and challenge one another to go in to the graveyard and see who had the nerve to go right up to the Pink Lady, as we knew it. We were never destructive though!" Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: February 6, 2012 |
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Reply 2. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Allan Dodds replied: |
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After Dark "Frank Ferri obviously frequented some of my own childhood haunts! When we were young, we often spent warm summer evenings in the cemetery. After dark we would take torches with us and dare to visit the vaults where coffins were stacked on ledges. This was very spooky but we never considered desecrating the place because not only did we respect the living, we also respected the dead. When my late mother was in her late-eighties she once took a shortcut through the cemetery, whereupon she was approached by a policeman who warned her that it wasn't safe to walk there!" Upkeep "Edinburgh City Council has much to answer for when they ceased to take responsibility for the upkeep of the cemetery and privatised its 'upkeep'. For a whole decade the place became run down and vandalised and we now have this legacy to live with." Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: February 7, 2012 |