Tourist in my own Town of Greenock
What a wonderful scheme "Doors Open Day" is! It is a fabulous time to explore places that you would not normally have the opportunity to visit and hear more about the history of your home town. On Sunday I was fortunate to be among those visiting the Inverkip Street/Duncan Street cemetery in Greenock. It is a quiet place and, although it is not far from the centre of town, this was the first time I had ventured inside.
The word relict - what a horrible word, in this case means widow. It makes me think that these women were poor broken-down things (which perhaps some of them were). What a shame that four of their children died young - a common story in those days, I suppose.
The tour was run by Inverclyde Tourist Group. A couple of their members had done a lot of research into the history of some of the people who were buried there.
This cemetery was closed in 1859. The new Greenock Cemetery (which I've blogged about often) was opened in 1846.
Some of the gravestones are from the 18th century. Many are of merchants and shipowners of the town.
Love, Liz
Comments
I've seen the word relict on memorial plaques in churches, often referring to the widow of whichever member of the clergy it was memorialising.
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