Pillars & Foundations

I happened to be driving through Burlington to complete some errands, and I took the opportunity to take a stroll through this historic cemetery. The fall colors were past peak at the time, but still had a contrast to the greys of the headstones, and the browns and fading green of New England ground rapidly transitioning into winter.  Find a Grave's website , as typical is the go-to place to find information about this burial site. It notes that the site dates to the 1730s and was utilized for the Revolutionary War, as well as veterans of the war of 1812. The headstone above, of a Reverend, features this fascinating art work that seems like something created for a movie. I'm not terribly well acquainted with trends, however this strikes me as very unusual.  Text and photographs by George Parks Sources are embedded in links Follow Pillars & Foundations on Twitter Follow Pillars & Foundations on Pinterest

Bell Rock Cemetery in Malden is also known as the Old Burial Ground, and apparently according to Find A Grave , " Sandy Bank Cemetery ," originally, for which there is a Wikipedia page . According to Wikipedia it was placed on the U.S. Register of National Historic Places in 1981. Also of note, apparently the headstones and their engravings have been well documented and are searchable in the Malden Public Library. For those familiar with the layout of Malden Massachusetts its location would likely be surprising, several blocks away from what is currently "Malden Center," on the side of a hill in a relatively low lying area. The neighborhood today is comprised of dense residential approaching the Malden River and flanked by the MBTA train tracks and some industrial zones. The first meeting house of Malden was located near the cemetery, on Bell Rock hill, formerly called Bailey's Hill. The oldest headstone in the graveyard is said to date to 1670.  Pleasantly this...

Old Burial Ground, Lynnfield, Massachusetts Also known as Lynnfield Centre Cemetery , this burial ground has Revolutionary War veterans amongst those interred. The location is picturesque, cornered between the town center, a stone's throw from an old meeting house, shadowed by towering white pines, and on the edge of wetlands, this site is quintessential rural New England. As a visitor you can't help but look at it and imagine how settlers in the recent past laid down their roots in a raw, wild environment. The challenges they must have faced, and yet they strived to create these dignified monuments to their forbearers surrounded by the rugged lands they hoped to tame. Today, just over a couple centuries later, the frenetic energy of greater Boston envelops it while allowing this town to maintain its quaint, traditional beauty. Somewhat surprisingly, there isn't a lot written about this location, at least not something easily searchable on the internet. The leads w...

West Burying Ground, Lynnfield, Massachusetts Amazingly I was not able to find very much information on " West Burying Ground ," which is also apparently known as Main Street Cemetery. Other than a quick mention of a ceremony being held there on Memorial day , my internet searches didn't even produce a mention of what wars the veterans interred here may have fought in. I would speculate the battles could span from Revolutionary War, to War of 1812, and the Civil War with the 1813 date. But scanning through the details of the graves I'm finding many of the people laid to rest were born too close or late to likely have served in the Revolutionary War. There are two burial sites in close proximity in Lynnfield, both of which date relatively far back in the area's short history of British/non-native settlers. I will spend time discussing Lynnfield's "Old Burying Ground," which is logically (wait for it,) older in another post for another day...

Old Burying Ground, Stoneham, Massachusetts On a recent walk to escape the confines of the home amidst the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, I set out specifically to walk by this cemetery. I've been disappointed repeatedly that I'm not allowed to enter the grounds and get a closer look, however clearly this is to protect these stones, which largely are in excellent condition. Apparently some of them are quite ornate . This site is on the National Historic Register, hopefully I'll catch it one of these days when it is open. If so, I'll be sure to update this with the close up shots of some headstones. The Old Burying ground was said to be once in the town center of Stoneham, with a meetinghouse nearby. However today most of the construction around it is likely somewhat contemporary and the current town center is a few blocks away. Stoneham's website lists the cemetery as having veterans from 4 military conflicts, as well as other prominent historical figures ...

St. James's Church Piccadilly, London, UK During a brief trip to the UK last fall my wife and I spent some time roaming the streets of London and Edinburgh. I tried to pop into churches that had open doors when I had the time, and St. James was one such site we stumbled upon. At the time of our visit their yard was over run by a food truck festival, which I believe may have been a fund raiser. We explored a bit, however due to these circumstances my photographs are primarily limited to the interior as opposed to the outside architecture and grounds. Over the course of working on Pillars & Foundations, I began following several "Church Crawling," forums in social media, and through this I often heard of Sir Christopher Wren , famed architect of St. Paul's Cathedral (I also visited St. Paul for a choir recital, unfortunately they are very prohibitive with photography so I'm on the fence on whether I'll put together a post with the several exterior ...