Cemetery Symbolism

95216932 2957635167647677 5522309541485608960 o 212x300 Our second planned exhibition for 2020 was called Pestilence in Plymouth but I really can't bring myself to share that.

I think that we have enough of that going on outside at the moment so instead, over the next few weeks I am going to share an exhibition that the Heritage Team prepared back in 2014 which was about the symbolism used on headstones throughout the cemetery.

I hope that you will find it interesting.

95795875 2962304720514055 1377174829601390592 o 212x300 Our first poster focuses on naval connections and the way in which the anchor had been used on many headstones in the cemetery.

95293239 2967547026656491 6210987610161020928 o 212x300 Our next poster focuses on angels as heaven's messengers

95862899 2972330739511453 6426219858861490176 o 212x300 A second poster about the angels that have been used as headstones in the cemetery

96016424 2977248869019640 5903794901857861632 o 212x300 Our next poster shows how grieving relatives have used symbols on their loved one's headstones to commemorate family links

97319427 2982040048540522 8609592335191244800 o 212x300 Today's poster highlights the use of birds on headstones in the cemetery.

96591188 2986814451396415 8156722384976478208 o 212x300 Many different flowers were used on headstones with different meanings for each flower. On our poster today we have focussed on four flowers, the rose, the daisy, the lily and the passion flower

97543429 2991427704268423 7263800900341202944 o 212x300 From flowers to plants, our poster today features the use of Willow, Ivy, Oak and Grapes and explains why you will find the same designs on multiple headstones throughout the cemetery.

97753494 2997105997033927 8717457346453831680 o 212x300 Today we feature some of the headstones that mention organisations or societies

97992240 3003636746380852 9199715034865860608 o 212x300 There are, of course, nearly 1,000 Commonwealth War Graves scattered throughout the cemetery but for our military theme we have chosen primarily family headstones. And, yes, I know that the Salvation Army is religious rather than military but the wonderful work that they carried out for our civilians and armed services during World War 2 when they joined the UK Council of Voluntary Welfare Workers, warranted being featured here

98377401 3008961412515052 2009488749666238464 o 212x300 Today's poster examines some of the classical designs that we find around the cemetery

99014663 3013835042027689 4821024708709318656 o 212x300 Our final three posters for the Symbolism exhibition focus on the use of religious symbols on headstones under the headings of Faith, Hope and Charity. Today - Faith.

100975173 3018475764896950 6625024974346256384 o 212x300 Our penultimate poster for this exhibition is Hope

101188316 3023509554393571 2696878933743239168 o 212x300 So, we come to the final poster of our Symbolism exhibition - Charity