After many years of neglect and vandalism, when Warriston was privately owned, the Edinburgh City Council eventually placed a compulsory purchase order on the cemetery. A lot of work is required and progress is difficult to detect.

Among those buried here are John Menzies (1808-79). Menzies owned the rights to the works of Charles Dickens but is better remembered for his railway bookstalls. Close by is the grave of Sir James Young Simpson (1811-70),pioneer of Anaesthetics.

The lower photographs above show some of the neglect to be found in Warriston. In one corner I came across a damaged statue of Christ, as I approached I disturbed some rats. The statue itself has been moved from its original location, standing as it does in the middle of a dirt track.

Over the years many headstones have fallen over, through vandalism or neglect. In many cases they have simply been gathered together and piled up in some remote corner. Those above are resting beside the gothic style railway bridge at the Canonmills end of the cemetery - the Edinburgh Leith Railway once ran through the cemetery.

  

Perhaps the saddest sight in Warriston is the Robertson Mausoleum which has been badly damaged by vandals. This was once a fine Gothic style structure whose roof of red glass cast a warm glow upon the resting Mary Ann Robertson (1826-58), daughter of Brigadier-General Manson of the Bombay Artillery. It was known locally as the 'Tomb of the Red Lady'.

From time to time some of the undergrowth gets cleared away making parts of the graveyard accessible, if only for a few months. It was after one such cleanup in the Spring of 2002 that I discovered the grave (below left) of Count Valerian Krasinski.

Spring 2002:

Sacred to the Memory of Count Valerian Krasinski A Polish Patriot, Illustrious by birth, by Intellect, by Nobility of Nature. Author of numerous works on the history of his country, through life, a zealous champion of her rights and independence. He died in exile pleading her cause December 22nd 1855, aged 60.   Erected by his grateful countrymen.	Erected by the  Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society in memory of William Young in recognition of his services for over fifty years in the cause and advancement of Horticulture Died at Edinburgh 1896 Aged 80
June 2004, the cemetery is more overgrown now than at anytime I've been there over the last 6 or 7 years.
The Begg memorial,above, just one of the many toppled and damaged monuments in Warriston, a scene common to many graveyards throughout the country.	Memorial to the sculptor, John Rhind and family
Detail from the Begg memorial above, left.