Lairg Burial Ground, Manse Road, Lairg

Lairg Burial Ground is a rubbled walled burial ground situated on Manse Road, Lairg, and contains monuments spanning the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Among the memorials are those to William Gray, dated 1749, which is a small tombstone with fluted pilasters and symbols of mortality, including a coffin, crossed bones, and a bell, all mounted on a later rubble plinth. This plinth may be part of a former church wall. A memorial to the Mackay family was erected circa 1803; it comprises a square, panelled ashlar plinth with inscriptions in both English and Gaelic, a moulded cope, a stepped apex with an urn finial, and a low stepped base supporting a cast-iron spearhead railing. The Matheson Memorial, erected in 1880, is a substantial classical loggia. It is supported by a polished granite plinth and features six Corinthian columns with poppy seed head detailing on the capitals. The central bays east and west have round arches with decorated spandrels, a central ribbed leaded dome, and a moulded entablature surmounted by eight urn finials with stylised flames, alongside a similarly detailed apex finial to the dome. The outer bays are linked by a low retaining wall decorated with swags. A square white marble pedestal, signed A. Viegl, Menton, stands under the dome and features an inset medallion relief depicting Sir James Matheson of Achany (1796-1878). The pedestal is surmounted by a white marble cross with a dove and floral wreath. The burial ground is on the site of a former parish church. Sir James Matheson, born at West Shinness, by Lairg, was a founder member of the firm of Jardine Matheson and worked in Calcutta, Canton, and Macao. He acquired Achany and estates in Lewis (Hebrides) and served as MP for Ashburton, Devon, from 1842. The poppy seed head detailing on the memorial is a reference to the Far Eastern opium trade, upon which Jardine Matheson's success was founded.