Ref - SMMMLNB01

Alias - Newbattle Wilson Stone

County - Midlothian

Parish - Newbattle 

Graveyard - Newbattle Graveyard 

Year -  1741

Stone - Red sandstone 

Trade motifs - Hammer, crown (hammermen, poss. blacksmith).

Other motifs - Skull,  hour glass, memento mori ribbon.

Inscription - REPAIRED BY JM WILSON BAKER // IN MEMORY OF ROBERT WILSON // HIS FATHER WHO DIED ... 73 YEARS

Description  - This red sandstone monument is among the half a dozen  headstones still standing in Newbattle Graveyard. The inscription records that it was repaired by the son of its patron, Robert Wilson. The west face of the stone is mostly symmetrical in design, with pairs of motifs mirrored on either edge of the face.  There are two skulls in high relief, somewhat anatomical in nature. There are also two hour glasses of the typical design, and two portraits, one with slightly longer hair and face than the other. This seems to have originally been dedicated to a husband and wife and these two portraits may represent them.  In the centre of the designs is a hammer - probably denoting a smith - striking a globe partially obscured by drapery. Above the hammer is a large crown which also seems to support a globe. The East face bears an oval cartouche which appears to have hosted  incised initials, and the inscription below, although weathered, commemorates the Robert Wilson and his wife Mary Laws.