SEARCH OF GRAVESTONES OLD AND CURIOUS. With One Hundred and Two Illustrations BY W. T. VINCENT, PRESIDENT OF THE WOOLWICH DISTRICT ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY; AUTHOR OF "THE RECORDS OF THE WOOLWICH DISTRICT," ETC., ETC. LONDON: MITCHELL & HUGHES, 140, WARDOUR STREET. 1896. IN SEARCH OF GRAVESTONES OLD AND CURIOUS. _Frontispiece_. [Illustration: AN EARLY SAMPLE AT HIGHAM.] (Page 11.) CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. OLD GRAVESTONES 1 II. THE EVOLUTION OF GRAVESTONES 9 III. ARTISTIC GRAVESTONES 20 IV. PROFESSIONAL GRAVESTONES 31 V. A TYPICAL TRAMP IN KENT 35 VI. MORE TYPICAL TRAMPS 43 VII. EARLIER GRAVESTONES 49 VIII. REFORM AMONG THE GRAVESTONES 57 IX. PRESERVING THE GRAVESTONES 62 X. OLD GRAVESTONES IN IRELAND 78 XI. OLD GRAVESTONES IN SCOTLAND 84 XII. OLD GRAVESTONES ABROAD 91 XIII. VERY OLD GRAVESTONES 97 XIV. THE REGULATION OF GRAVESTONES 105 INDEX 111 TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL STANHOPE, F.S.A., LORD LIEUTENANT OF KENT, PRESIDENT OF THE KENT ARCHÆOLOGICAL SOCIETY, ETC., THIS COLLECTION OF OLD AND CURIOUS GRAVESTONES IS BY SPECIAL PERMISSION RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. ILLUSTRATIONS OF GRAVESTONES. AN EARLY EXAMPLE AT HIGHAM 1 AND 2, NEWHAVEN 3, WIDCOMBE; 4, NEWHAVEN; 5, LEWES 6, PLUMSTEAD; 7 AND 8, DARTFORD 9, FRANKFORT; 10, EAST WICKHAM 11, RIDLEY; 12, HOO 13, ERITH; 14, HIGH HALSTOW 15, FRINDSBURY; 16, HIGHAM 17, SHORNE AND CHALK 18, MEOPHAM; 19, STANSTEAD; 20, OLD ROMNEY 21, CRAYFORD; 22, SHOREHAM 23, LEWISHAM; 24, HORNSEY 25, TEDDINGTON; 26, FINCHLEY; 27, FARNBOROUGH 28, CHISELHURST; 29, HARTLEY 30, WEST WICKHAM; 31, HORNSEY 32, HORTON KIRBY; 33, CLIFFE 34, DARENTH; 35, KINGSDOWN 36, FAWKHAM; 37, SWANSCOMBE 38, ASHFORD; 39, COOLING 40, HENDON; 41, EAST WICKHAM 42, SNARGATE; 43, EAST HAM 44, WILMINGTON; 45, WANSTEAD; 46, SOUTHFLEET; 47, WILMINGTON 48, LEWISHAM; 49, BUNHILL FIELDS 50, WOOLWICH; 51, LONGFIELD 52, LYDD; 53, BERMONDSEY 54, RICHMOND; 55, RIPLEY 56, COBHAM; 57, BARNES 58, FRINDSBURY; 59, SUTTON AT HONE 60, BROMLEY; 61, BECKENHAM 62, GREEENFORD; 63, WEST HAM 64, LEE; 65, ORPINGTON 66, ST. MARY CRAY; 67, ST. PAUL'S CRAY 68, FOOT'S CRAY; 69, BEXLEY 70, BARKING; 71, WOOLWICH 72, DEPTFORD; 73, WEST HAM 74, AND 75, WANSTEAD 76, WALTHAMSTOW; 77, BROXBOURNE 78, STAPLEFORD TAWNEY; 79, SHORNE 80, BETHNAL GREEN; 81, PLUMSTEAD 82, CHESHUNT; 83, HATFIELD 84, NORTHOLT; 85, TWICKENHAM 86, HIGH BARNET; 87, KINGSTON-ON-THAMES 88, SWORDS 89, DROGHEDA 90, BANGOR; 91, MUCKROSS AND QUEENSTOWN 92, INVERNESS; 93, BRAEMAR 94, STIRLING 95, BLAIRGOWRIE 96, LAUFEN 97, NEUHAUSEN 98, HEIDELBERG; 99, LUCERNE 100, THE BRESSAY STONE; 101, LUNNASTING AND KILBAR STONES PREFACE. I am a Gravestone Rambler, and I beg you to bear me company. This Book is not a Sermon. It is a lure to decoy other Ramblers, and the bait is something to ramble for. It also provides a fresh object for study.