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and Robert Adamson , showing D O Hill sketching at the ''Dennystoun Monument'', watched by the Misses Morris.]] Greyfriars Kirkyard is the Graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh , Scotland , and is in the hands of a separate trust from the church. For many people, the graveyard is associated primarily with Greyfriars Bobby , the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave. Though Bobby's headstone is at the entrance to the Kirkyard, he is actually buried at a grassy verge by a wall nearby, as the Kirk authorities would not allow his burial on consecrated ground. Many of the plots are enclosed in ornate stone and ironwork cages, called Mortsafe s, to preserve the dead from the attentions of the early 19th century Resurrection Men who supplied Edinburgh Medical College with the corpses for dissection. During the early days of photography in the 1840s the kirkyard was used by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson as a setting for several portraits and Tableaux such as ''The Artist and The Gravedigger''. The kirkyard is reputedly haunted by the restless spirit of the infamous 'Bluidy' George Mackenzie (buried there in 1691), which is said to cause bruising and minor cuts and grazes on those who come into contact with it. Numerous 'ghost tours' operate during the summer months, generally leaving from the High Street. The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanter s. They began in 1638 with signing of the National Covenant in the Kirk, and in 1679 some 1200 Covenanters were imprisoned in the Kirkyard pending trial. A sign at the entrance of the Kirkyard ''(right)'' reads as follows :In Greyfriars Church the National Covenant was adopted and signed 28th February 1638. '''In the Churchyard are objects of historical interest as the Martyrs' Monument towards the North East and the Covenanter's prison towards the South West.''' '''Also the graves of many Scotsmen and citizens of Edinburgh of whom some of the most important are''' : James Douglas , Earl of Morton Regent of Scotland died 1581 : George Buchanan , Historian and Reformer died 1582 : Alexander Henderson , Churchman and Statesman died 1646 : Sir George McKenzie , King's Advocate died 1691 : Mary Erskine , School Founder died 1707 : William Carstairs , Statesman died 1715 : George Watson , School Founder died 1723 : Colin MacLaurin , Mathematicion died 1746 : Thomas Ruddiman , Grammarian died 1757 : Allan Ramsay , Poet died 1758 : William Robertson D.D. , Historian died 1793 : Duncan Bàn MacIntyre , Gaelic Poet died 1812 : William Creech , Bookseller died 1815 : Henry MacKenzie , "The Man of Feeling" died 1831 : Thomas McCrie , Historian, died 1835 External links |