The family grave of Dr. Andrew Duncan (1744-1828)

Dr. Andrew Duncan (1744-1828) was President of the Royal College of Physicians and Professor of the Theory of Medicine at Edinburgh. Buried in this same plot is one of his students, Charles Darwin (1758-78), a relative of the author of Origin of the Species. The graveyard is very dilapidated with weeds springing up through gravel, an area in the centre is fenced off and is used as a childrens play area.

The inscription on the wall within the Dr. Andrew Duncan family vault reads :

Charles Darwin

Born at Lichfield September 3rd 1758;
and Died at Edinburgh May 15th 1778.

Possessed uncommon abilities and activity, he had acquired knowledge in every department of Medical and Philosophical science much beyond his years. He gained the first medal offered by the Æsculapian Society for a Criterion to Distinguish, Matter from Mucus; and had prepared a thesis for his graduation on the Retrograde Motions of the Lymphatic Vessels in some Diseases. He cultivated with success, the friendship of ingenious men, and was buried by favour of Dr. A Duncan in this his family vault.

Fame’s boastful chisel, fortune’s silver plume,
Mark but the mouldering urn, or deck the tomb.

Also buried here, in an unmarked grave, is Deacon William Brodie (hanged 1788) who by day was a respectable official in the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons and by night carried out a string of burglaries which for some time had baffled the people of Edinburgh. He was eventually caught when one of his gang gave evidence against him, in return for a pardon. He later became the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The church is now used as a store by the University of Edinburgh. Access to the graveyard may be gained during normal office hours.