Today I walked around the Necropolis just up the road from me. It's a great place to have a wander around admiring the Victorian tombs and gravestones. There is much symbolism to be found in graveyards and I'm sure most casual visitors don't know a fraction about the tombs.
There are a few classic tombstone designs I'll mention. The pillar or tree that is broken in half is not vandalised or hit by lightening but symbolises a life struck down early - a child or young adults grave. 
The flying hour glass is seen around and represents the passage of time flying (tempus fugit), again often a sign of a premature death.
Another common site is the Grecian Urn which represents simply The soul and mortality. The Drape on it - mourning.
Apart from the symbolism, another thing seen in the Necropolis is evidence of a rather macabre practice - Body Snatching. When the Church held more influence than it does today, it was decreed illegal to perform dissections on cadavers - however there was a thriving black market in selling bodies to medical colleges. The protective wrought iron cages seen around the Necropolis bear witness to these days.
At the turn of the century if an American tourist died here they were likely to be buried here since the transportation of a dead body back to the USA was not practical. Here is one Texan tourist who ended up staying a lot longer than his original itinerary
planned. There are quite a few similar ones to be seen, most having a Masonic 
connection.Finally I show an image with a guy who shared the same name as myself! I like seeing these things and have often thought of making up a montage of all my acquaintances sharing the same names as the tombs. Not sure how well that would go down though
