Description

Dating to between 1905 and 1906, the gravestone for the Reverend Alexander Orrock Johnston was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh on behalf of Honeyman, Keppie and Mackintosh. It was executed by the Scottish sculptor R A McGilvray and constructed of Dullatur sandstone. The monument is designed in the Art Nouveau style and comprises a compressed cross-shaped headstone with rounded corners and a projecting central ellipse. The centrally placed inscribed bronze was designed by Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson and dates to 1933. A stone-carved stylised dove is located directly above the bronze panel within the central ellipse and inscribed on the panel is St John's gospel, Chapter 12:17.

Reverend Alexander Orrock Johnston's gravestone is situated at the northwest corner of the East Wemyss Cemetery (MacDuff), Fife around 140m from the cemetery entrance gates. It is part of the earliest development phase of the graveyard which was laid out around 1885 and opened in 1896 and includes largely 19th century monuments and gravestones of standard design. This area was accessed from High Street to the northeast and included a gate lodge (now modernised and in still in use). There are two later phases of the cemetery dating from the early 20th century to the early 21st century. These phases include standard layouts and gravestones of the period.

Historical development

The gravestone was designed, created and installed between 1905 and 1906 within East Wemyss Cemetery. The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (Revised 1913, published 1914) depicts the graveyard and shows that the southwest area was flanked by woodland but the 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey map (revised 1938, published 1945) shows the previously mapped woodland had been replaced by housing.

Municipal graveyard laid out in 1885 and opened in 1896, to meet the requirements of the growing population of the former coal mining village of East Wemyss.

The earlier phase of the cemetery at southwest appears on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (Surveyed 1893, published 1895), then the cemetery was extended to the northeast in the early 20th century as shown on the Ordnance Survey Map (Revised 1913, published 1914). A further area was added to the cemetery at the northeast in the late 20th or early 21st century which is currently used as an active burial ground managed by Fife Council Bereavement Services.

According to the job book of Honeyman, Keppie and Mackintosh (Job Book 1902 1911 GLAHA 53062), the gravestone was commissioned by Amy Hepburn Johnston, the Reverend's widow. Mrs Johnston would have been familiar with Mackintosh's work, as her husband had commissioned the Ruchill Halls (Listed at Category A, LB32356), which were designed by Mackintosh in 1899. Additionally, having lived in Kilmacolm at the time of her husband's death, it is likely she was familiar with Mackintosh's gravestone design for James Reid (Listed at Category B, LB51677). The Reverend's daughter, Lucy, later confirmed that the choice of Mackintosh as the designer was a deliberate one by her mother (www.mackintosh architecture.gla.ac.uk).

Mackintosh's design drawings for the gravestone have evident stylistic similarities with his furniture designs. The drawings show that Mackintosh's design was extended to the setting of the gravestone, a high curved yew hedge is depicted behind the stone. However, the yew was not incorporated into the final project. A willow tree was planted as an alternative but is no longer present. The inscription from St John's gospel, chapter 12, verse 17, was chosen by Mrs Johnston.

By 1928, the stonework and inscription were showing signs of deterioration, possibly worsened by the salty air of the coastal location. Mackintosh had been commissioned to restore the stone but died before the work could be undertaken. In 1933, the Reverend's daughter Lucy and son Frederick hired Edinburgh sculptor Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson to refurbish it, with an emphasis on maintaining the design of Mackintosh's original inscription. The sculptor added the inscribed bronze panel within the central ellipse and Frederick added the name of Alexander's wife, Amy, who had died in 1919, to the inscription.

The memorial has been refurbished and made stable by Fife Council in 2024.

Statement of Interest

The Gravestone of Reverend Alexander Orrock Johnston, East Wemyss Cemetery, meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

• It is a high quality and distinctive example of a gravestone design by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who is internationally renowned as one of the leading architects and designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• The design is highly innovative and demonstrates Mackintosh's decorative approach at the time, drawing influence from other examples of his work, such as his furniture design.
• The gravestone survives largely as it was built, although with some minor alterations (the addition of the inscribed bronze panel), which are in keeping with the original design.
• It is in its original position in East Wemyss graveyard, which is largely characterised by 19th century grave markers of standard design, providing a typical historic setting. The gravestone is prominent within its immediate setting as it stands apart stylistically from the traditional monuments which surround it.
• It is a rare example of a Mackintosh designed gravestone as there are only three other known examples.
• The monument is closely associated with one of Scotland's leading architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose design work is celebrated internationally.

Architectural interest

Design

The gravestone is a prominent and well-crafted monument which is designed in an Art Nouveau style characteristic of the unique design motifs and style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It was executed by the sculptor R A McGilvray (1849-1914) of the firm R. A. McGilvray & Ferris, founded in 1869 by James Steel Junior and acquired McGilvray in 1878. The firm worked on many Glasgow city centre buildings' sculptures and carried out a number of works for Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh.

The interest of the designer in relation to the monument's design is of special interest as Mackintosh is regarded internationally as one of the leading architects and designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The British Architect (1912) notes that the design is derived from early Christian Celtic crosses of the kind that Mackintosh had imitated for the gravestone for Chief Constable Alexander McCall 1890-91, located in Cathedral Square, The Necropolis (listed building, LB33890) located within Glasgow Necropolis (Inventory garden and designed landscape, GDL00366). The gravestone also has a form similar to Mackintosh furniture designs such as the bookcase at Windyhill house (Listed at Category A, LB12450) and architectual details such as the corridor alcove at Hill House (Listed at Category A, LB34761). The stylised carving of a dove is also representative of the Art Nouveau-inspired style Mackintosh favoured in the early 20th century. The inscribed bronze plaque is a later addition, which retains the original inscription (in text and in design) with a small addition to the text, and is in keeping with Mackintosh's original concept.

The southwest area of the cemetery is characterised by the presence of largely 19th century traditional monuments and gravestones. The original late 19th century gate lodge has been modernised or replaced in the 20th century and is currently in use. The wider graveyard including the late 19th century phase, which contains gravestones and memorials dating from 1896 to present, and the lodge are not of special design interest.

Setting

The gravestone is located in the northwestern corner of the late 19th century phase of East Wemyss Cemetery (MacDuff), East Wemyss, Fife. Mackintosh's gravestone is unusual within its setting due to its striking Art Nouveau decoration and relatively stout form, which is lower and wider, than the surrounding gravestones.

The gravestone is understood to be in its original position. Later development to the north of the cemetery, in the form of interwar and post-war housing shown on the 3rd Editions Ordnance Survey map (revised 1947, published 1938) has not adversely affected the historic character of the cemetery or the gravestone.

Macduff's castle (scheduled monument SM13759) and Wemyss Caves (scheduled monument SM817) are located to the south of the cemetery, along the coastal boundary of the site.

Historic interest

Age and rarity

Gravestones are not a rare building type and are found all over Scotland. Gravestones are usually listed as part of a wider cemetery rather than individually, however, those that are early or notable examples of their type, that survive with their historic features intact, are less common and may be of special interest and listed in their own right.

The gravestone for Reverend Orrock Johnston at East Wemyss Cemetery dates to between 1905 and 1906 and is not an early example of its type. However, it is notable as one of only four gravestones known to have been designed by Mackintosh. The other gravestones are: for James Reid at Kilmacolm Cemetery (listed category B, LB51677) dating to 1898, for Chief Constable Alexander McCall dating to 1890-91, (listed category A as part of The Necropolis, Glasgow, LB33890); for designer Talwin Morris dating to 1911 (listed category B as part of Stirling Road Dumbarton Cemetery, LB24913).

The gravestone is an outstanding feature within the wider cemetery and is notable for its decoration and form, which displays fine and strong Art Nouveau elements.

Association with people or events of national importance

This gravestone has an association with a person of national importance.

This gravestone to the Reverend Alexander Orrock Johnson, is one of only four designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) was born in Glasgow and is regarded internationally as one of the leading architects and designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became known as a pioneer of Modernism, although his architecture took much inspiration from Scottish Baronial and Scottish and English vernacular forms and their reinterpretation. The synthesis of modern and traditional forms led to a distinctive form of Scottish arts and crafts design, known as 'The Glasgow Style'. This was developed in collaboration with contemporaries Herbert McNair, and the sisters Francis and Margaret Macdonald (the latter becoming Mackintosh wife in 1900), who were known as 'The Four'. The Glasgow Style is now synonymous with Mackintosh and the City of Glasgow.

Mackintosh's work is wide-ranging and includes public, educational and religious buildings to private houses, interior decorative schemes and sculptures. He is associated with over 150 design projects, ranging from being the principal designer, to projects he was involved with as part of the firm of John Honeyman & Keppie (Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh from 1901). The most important work during this partnership was the Glasgow School of Art (listed category A, LB33105), which was built in two phases from 1897 and culminated in the outstanding library of 1907.

Other Information

The Reverend Alexander Orrock Johnston (1840–1905) was the son of a linen manufacturer in East Wemyss, Fife. He was founding pastor of Great Western Free congregation in 1876, which opened Westbourne Church in 1881. He was a leading figure within the Free Church and took part in the discussions to join with the United Presbyterians in 1900, forming the United Free Church. Reverend Johnston commissioned Mackintosh to design the Ruchill Free Church Halls, in association with the Westbourne Church. The association with Reverend Orrock Johnstone is an historical association of local importance and is not of national significance.

Recommended Books

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  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
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  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
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