Our web-page "Girthon Parish Transcriptions" contains details of all burials and gravestone transcriptions of which we are aware. If, having looked at that searchable text page you find a gravestone that you would like to see, then come to this page and search for the relevant grave reference, then open the relevant .pdf file. Note that the surname associated with each lair is often that of the grave owner, which in some cases differs from the name(s) on the headstone.
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Over the years since this graveyard was first opened, the Parish Church has kept records of who owns which plot, or lair, and who has already been interred there. The Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council now have responsibility for maintaining these records which are comprehensive but not complete due either to damage or misplacement.
It appears that each "plot" of ground has been sold as a "lair". This entitles the owner to bury 2 coffins - one at a depth of 6 feet, and the other at 4'6", leaving a soil covering layer of about 3 feet. In modern times this covering layer can be used for burial of caskets that result from cremation.
In the early days lairs were usually sold in blocks of 3, but shortage of space has resulted in fewer lairs being purchased as multiples. As a result of the above there could be lairs that have not been filled to capacity.
When we first photographed and transcribed these gravestones in 2007 we made our own plan of the graveyard and used our own numbering system. In 2016 we acquired the lair records and we have now adopted the same numbering system. People may have already downloaded records from our website using our old numbering, so the transcription text file refers to both sets of numbers.
An overview of Girthon Graveyard from Memory Lane.
These 2 views are from the entrance gateway.
Graves are numbered starting with those adjacent to the perimeter wall; these are referred to as section A. The inner area is divided into 3 sections B, C & D. Areas between sections B & C were originally used for access, but as the graveyard filled these areas were used and referred to as section E. The new extension to the NE has a separate but adjoining walled area.
Here is the Graveyard Plan [there are 2 pages]. There are 5 sections in the older graveyard area, lettered A to E.
A1 McNeil | A3 Coyle | A4 Coyle |
A8 McQuarrie | A9 McKie | A10 Proudlock | A12 McMinn |
A21 Charters | A24 Macaulay | A25 McKelvie |
A24 Macaulay | A25 McKelvie | A27 Cairns | A31 MacDonell | A32 Henderson |
A67 Ferguson | A68a & A68b McMurray | A69 Brown | A70 Gibson | A71 Cairns |
A71 Cairns | A73 McConchie | A74 McCallum | A75a & A75b Fergusson | A76 Glencorse |
A75a & A75b Fergusson | A76 Glencorse | A77 Hay | A80 Potter |
A81 Milligan | A82 Manson | A83 Fergusson | A84 Dalrymple | A85 Bertram | A86 Cumming |
A87 Bennett | A88 McTier | A94 Wilson | A98 Downie | A102 McGeorge | A104 Fergusson |
A105 Fergusson | A108 Munro | A109 Hughes | A110 Edgar | A111 Edgar | A112 Carter |
Check the graveyard plan, and note that section B occupies the SE one third of the infield area. These photos follow increasing lair numbers from NE to SW. Lairs B1 to B77 are particularly sparsely represented by gravestones.
B2 Keelan | B4 Hannay | B8 Carter | B9 Kelly | B11 Harper | |
B12 Logan | B13 Kerr | B14 Stevenson | B15 Lockhart | B16 McGill | |
B17 Henderson |
B25 Cairney | B27 Clark | B29 Preston | B32 Leach |
The first 4 rows of lairs all face the NE wall, (i.e. lairs B1 to B36). The above photo attempts to show that rows 4 & 5 are back-to-back, as are rows 6 & 7 and rows 8 & 9. This completes the first half of section B.
The 5th row (lairs B37 to B45) is back-to-back with the 4th row (lairs B28 to B36), and there is only 1 gravestone in this row = B45 Maxwell.
The 6th row (B46 to B54), contains 2 stones and faces NE, whilst row 7 (B55 to B62) is back-to-back with row 6 and faces SW. There are no gravestones in row 7. B49 Maginnis B51 Dick
Row 8 (lairs B63 to B70) | B64 Harper | B66 Davidson | B67 McLachlan |
Row 9 (lairs 71 to 77). Rows EC & ED are part of Section E, which is a later addition and follows Section D on this web page.
B77 McAdam | B74 Gilmour |
At the end of row 10 (lairs B78 to B84) is part of the old access area E. In this area lairs EB1 to EB3 are in line with row 10 but face the opposite direction (SE), whilst lairs EC1 to EC5 are back-to-back with ED-- to ED--.
B79 Nelson | B81 Campbell | B82 Hall | B83 Henry | B88 Biggam | |
B89 Walker | B90 Hyslop | B91 Lockhart | B96 Clark | B97 Mitchell | |
B98 McLeod |
Note : In the above photograph, lairs B111 to B119 are in a line back-to-back with lairs B102 to B110.
B102 Patterson | B106 Fisher | B109 Cairns | B110 Barron | B112 McClymont | |
B113 Raphael | B114 Hume | B115 McMillan | B116 Renwick | B117 Breckenridge | |
B119 Straiton |
Note : In the above photograph, lairs B139 to B147 are in a line back-to-back with lairs B129 to B138.
Check the Graveyard Plan, and note that section C occupies the central one third of the infield area. These photos follow increasing lair numbers from SW to NE.
C1 Birrell | C6 Nimmo | C7 Pickthall | C9 Dalrymple | ||
C11 Muir | C13 Johnston | C14 Anderson | C15 | C18 McGill |
C20 Cairns | C25 Jamieson | C26 Turner | C27 Downie | ||
C29 Laurie | C31 Rattray | C33 Neil | C34 Roy | C35 Carson |
C37 Walker | C39 Eskdale | C40 Wilson | C41 Stanhop | C42 McCandlish | |
C43 Bailiff | C44 Harper | C45 Carson |
C52 McLachlan | C53 Nish | C54 Coates | |||
C55 Tait | C58 Skimming | C59 Dempster | C60 Nelson | C61 Houston | |
C62 McIlwraith |
C63 Henry | C64 McGaw | C66 Kinna | C68 Dalrymple | C69 McCutcheon |
The next row of gravestones is row ED which forms the major part of area E. Graves in area E are more modern and are sited on ground that had previously been used for access by maintenance machinery.
C70 McKean | C71 Campbell | C72 Hume | C73 Affleck | C74 Henderson | |
C75 Milligan |
C77 Foster | C78 Carson | C79 Fergusson | C80 Blythe | C81 McCutcheon | |
C82 Hannah | C84 Wylie | C85 Jack |
Lairs C86 to C93
C86 Stirling | C88 McCredie | C89 Wilson | C90 Lidderdale | C91 Spencer | |
C92 Campbell | C93 Dalziell |
C96 McIlwraith | C97 Stark | C99 Belford | C100 Corson | C101 Henry | |
C102 Corson |
C103 Telfer | C104 Helme | C105 Tomlinson | C106 Dalrymple | C107 Stewart | |
C108 Chesney | C110 Petrie | C111 Macadam |
C112 Murphie | C113 Hughan | C114 Irving | C115 Bendall | C116 Mitchinson | |
C117 Orr | C118 Wood | C119 McTaggart | C120 Morton |
C121 Sinclair | C122 Dalrymple | C123 Hyslop | C124 Jardine | C125 Stewart | |
C126 McCourty | C127 Poulton | C128 McMichael | C129 Carey |
Check the Graveyard Plan to see how rows are arranged in this section.
D001 Shaw | D004 Harper | D005 Culloch | D008 Dargue | D009 Oswald | |
D010 Christie | D011 Nelson | D012 Makepeace | D013 Graham | D014 Graham | |
D015 Tunstall | D016 Douglas | D018 Harper | D019 McHaffie |
D021 McMurray | D021a Fergusson | D022 Lifford | D023 Smith | D024 Bennett | |
D025 Dalrymple | D026 McGarva | D026a McGarva | D027 Bertram | D028 McCrone | |
D029 McGeachie | D030 McMurray |
D032 Hunter | D034 Gillespie | D035 Laurie | D036 Walker | D037 Sharp | |
D038 Birkett | D041 Marshall | D042 Bailey / Trowell | D043 Dickinson | D044 Mowat |
D048 Kirk | D049 Shaw | D053 Davidson | D055 Henry | D056 Crosbie | |
D058 Tinman | D059 Gammack |
D060 McKie | D061 Houston | D063 Craig | D064 Fergusson | D065 Patterson | |
D066 Walker | D067 Baillie | D068 Kirkwood | D070 Farmer | D071 Tait | |
D074 Nichol |
D076 Crow | D078 Craig | D082 Gilmour | D087 Glover | D089 McClymont | |
D095 Park | D098 Hay |
D104 Heron | D109 Shedden | D113 Johnstone | D115 Taylor | D118 Vaughan | |
D120 Milligan | D123 Montgomery | D126 Gemmell | D129 Urquart | D131 Cochrane |
D132 Miller | D134 Henderson | D137 Whan | D142 Lenzini | D144 Grieve | |
D146 Girvan | D149 Preston | D151 Geddes | D153 Clark | D156 McMillan |
D160 Macadam | D165 McCutcheon | D167 McCutcheon | D169 McConnel | D172 Straiton | |
D174 Veitch | D177 Kane | D179 Riddick | D181 McLeod | D184 Nichol |
D190 Dalrymple | D192 McGeoch | D195 Hannah | D198 Landers | D200 Campbell | |
D201 Campbell | D204 Miller | D207 Maxwell | D209 Cain | D212 Holmes | |
D213 Holmes | D215 Corrie |
D220 Matthews | D225 Thomson | D228 Foulds | D231 McGuffog | D237 Walker | |
D240 Hunter | D244 Hughan | D248 Marcellino |
D251 Hogg | D253 Hannah | D255 Davidson | D258 Walker | D261 Adams | |
D264 Davidson | D267 Johnstone | D269 Riddick | D272 Hay | D275 McMinn |
D278 Smith | D280 Sinclair | D282 Baird | D284 Lillie | D286 Craig | |
D289 McMurray | D291 Cameron | D293 McClymont | D295 Cox | D297 McCleary | |
D300 Frullani | D302 Bull | D303 Hesketh | D305 Patterson |
Check the Graveyard Plan to see how this section is made up of infill areas between sections B and C.
EB6 Milligan |
EB5 Wlkinson |
EB4 Virtue-Welch |
EB3 Russell |
EB2 Ramwell |
EB1 Hay |
EC2 Crosbie |
EC3 Dalziel |
EC4 Burgess |
EC5 Gordon |
EC6 Macdonald |
EC7 Sharp |
EC8 McLean |
EC10 Kirk |
EC11 Broadfoot |
Row ED runs down the middle of sections B & C. Lairs ED53 to ED25 are within the area occupied by section B, whilst ED24 to ED1 are within section C. There is no gravestone for lair ED53, but the following shows Row ED within the area of section B.
Lairs ED24 to ED1.
There are 2 short rows of lairs on either side of the middle of Row ED. This was probably part of a turning area for access vehicles. These 4 short rows straddle the gap between sections B & C, and encroach slightly into these sections.
EE01-02 Logue |
EE03 Keenan |
EE04 Henderson |
EE05 Ferguson | EE06 McKechnie |
EE07 Johnstone |
EE08 Keenan |
EE09 Tait |
EE10 Holmes |
EF01 Holden |
EF02 Hope |
EF03 Haining |
EF04 Lewis |
EF05 Kane |
EF06-07 Watson |
EF08 Goodall |
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For more recent graves see the next web page "Girthon Photos Overflow"