Anne Rochford's Gravestone - Tree of Life

Location

Midmar Cemetry, Midmar Church near Echt
Echt, Aberdeenshire

OS Map Reference

NJ 699 064

Date

1993

Description

An inspired contemporary gravestone, by Helen Denerley, with a brass and copper relief appliqué in the form of the tree of life in a sinuous style. A mouse and a lizard are nestled among the tree's roots.

Related Information

The stone is for the wife of Gerard Rochford, a poet. The sculpture has since been used on the cover of his collection of poems, The Holy Family and Other Poems, http://www.koopress.co.uk/KPreviews.htm.
Written by 'Matthew' in 2001 ---- "Midmar is where my Mother Anne was buried in 1991 and the gravestone was added a couple of years later. My mother had a deep connection with stone circles and during my childhood we were taken to scores of sites all over Scotland. When she died my father thought of Midmar and had remembered visiting it with her. The sculpture, based on the Indian/Celtic/Universal Tree of Life was commissioned from a local artist and took a long time to get and "feel" right (you can't rush the creative process). My mum was born in India to Anglo Indian parents and was a very spiritual person and, believe it or not, a Christian. I remember though before she died she wrote and told me she was reading a book on Celtic Spirituality "just what I need" she said "no guilt , just a clear, pure, message". I hope that her stone at Midmar gives joy to the visitors there- she would have approved I am sure." source http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/190/Midmar+Kirk
The kirk yard contains a recumbent stone circle; 17.3m in diameter; consists of recumbent, two flankers and five others. This re-arranged circle now stands in a churchyard. The two flankers, each c2.5m high, flank a massive recumbent which weighs some 20 tons. The present church was built in 1797 when the old church near Midmar was pulled down . The old graveyard continued in use until 1914 when the new one was laid out around the stone circle.
The old kirk yard is nearby at NJ 702 059 called the old church of St Nidan or St Nidian's, it has a good collection of gravestones from the 16thC onwards, including that of George Bell, master mason of Midmar & Craigievar castles.

Era

1900s

Information Source

Http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/190/Midmar+Kirk
Aberdeenshire Sites and Monuments Record, also referred to The Historic Kirkyards of Aberdeenshire A Survey Report, Aberdeenshire Council 1998.

Related Artefacts

Midmar Recumbent Stone Circle

Iconography

animals in general
tree of life

Creator

Helen Denerley, Sculptor

External Links

Photographer

Martin Sim

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