Carved in English Stone

about.com    March 2001

A collection of unusual epitaphs

Epitaphs, or the inscriptions carved on tombs and gravestones, are often memorable and sometimes humorous. For example, Sir Christopher Wren, the great architect of London's St. Paul's Cathedral, had his epitaph carved in Latin over the interior of the the cathedral's north door: Si monumentum requiris circumspice (If his monument you seek, look around). Here are a few more striking examples from England.

                               "Here lies the body of William Gordon
                               He'd a mouth almighty and teeth accordin',
                               Strangers tread lightly on this sod
                               For if he gapes you're gone, by God."
                               Reading, Berkshire

                               "Here lies father and mother and sister and I
                               We all died within the space of one short year;
                               They all be buried at Wimble, except I,
                               And I be buried here."
                               Tombstone in Staffordshire

                               "Poorly lived,
                               And poorly died,
                               Poorly buried,
                               And no one cried."
                               Grave in Lillington churchyard, nr Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

                               "All who come my grave to see
                               Avoid damp beds and think of me."
                               Gravestone in Stoke-on-Trent

                               "Here lie I by the chancel door,
                               They put me here because I was poor.
                               The further in, the more you pay,
                               But here lie I as snug as they."
                               Tombstone in Devon

                               "Here sleeps in peace a Hampshire Grenadier
                               Who caught his death by drinking cold, small beer.
                               So soldiers be wise from his untimely fall
                               And when your'e hot drink strong or none at all."

                               "An honest soldier is never forgot
                               whether he fell by musket or by pot."
                               In Memory of Thomas Fletcher, Winchester Cathedral