History
After a cholera epidemic in 1832 strained Edinburgh's already overfilled cemeteries, the Metropolitan Cemetery Association was set up in 1844 - as a profit-making enterprise - intent on building new, picturesque “garden cemeteries” with catacombs. Dalry Necropolis was built in 1846 on land purchased from the Walker family of Dalry House. It was designed by David Cousin (1809 - 1878), who also designed Warriston (1842), Dean (1845), Rosebank (1846), and Newington Cemetery (1846). After falling into disrepair, it was acquired by The City of Edinburgh Council via compulsory purchase order in 1987.
“The Dalry Necropolis... is decidedly the most tasteful in Edinburgh. The whole has a picturesque and antique aspect, well supported by catacombs of striking outline, and a gate-lodge with a lofty Gothic arch.”
The Builder: Volume 4 (1846)
© 2005 National Library of Scotland | CC BY 4.0
Calotype probably by James Francis Montgomery (1818 - 1897), who probably founded the world's first photography club.
