Coetmor Cemetery, Bethesda

Coetmor Cemetery

Date

8 October 2011

Location

Ffordd Coetmor, Bethesda

Information

This early 20th-century nonconformist burial ground in Bethesda is in the care of Gwynedd Council. It is adjacent to the churchyard of a small chapel built in 1911 by the Robertson family in memory of their youngest son Charles Donald Robertson, who fell on Glyder Fach in March 1910, aged 30 years old. Charles was a grandson of the Reverend F W Roberston, known as ‘Robertson of Brighton’ and one of the most famous Anglican preachers of the 19th century.

Coetmor Church (Church in Wales); Frederick William Robertson (Wikipedia);
Christogram (Wikipedia)

Slate headstones

Coetmor Cemetery

'IHS' Christogram

Coetmor Cemetery

'Er Cof Am' (In memory of)

8 thoughts on “Coetmor Cemetery, Bethesda”

Another superb set of mono shots, with great control of textures and tones throughout. Difficult to choose a fave, but I reckon 2nd from the top just wins it for me.

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Graham Stephen says:

October 10, 2011 at 5:38 pm

Thanks Ian. It was a damp and dull day – prefect mood for a graveyard, I guess – and I liked the way the diffuse light was bouncing off the top edges of the slate headstones.

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very gothic…great effort

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Oh, yes! Beautiful set.

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Beautifully observed shots. My favourite is the sixth one. I love the rim lighting outlining the shape of the stone. The precision possible when working in in slate always fascinates me, as does the quality of workmanship exhibited by many slate grave stones.

I also think 19thC North Wales graveyards in particular exhibit a level of skill and artistry in stone decoration that marks them apart from other areas of the UK. There seems to be a delight in the use of decoration and religious imagery almost for its own sake: An exuberance somehow at odds with the grim nature of death and the perceived prim and proper nature of Victorian society. Across the road from me here in the Midlands, the 19thC grave stones are stern, plain and sometimes mawkish in their sentiment. Sufficient for their remembrance role and no more. Something to do with differing national and social identities perhaps?

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Beautiful and tasteful tribute to the wonderful art in cemeteries. You really captured it well, Graham.

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Iain Robinson says:

October 10, 2011 at 5:33 pm

Another superb set of mono shots, with great control of textures and tones throughout. Difficult to choose a fave, but I reckon 2nd from the top just wins it for me.

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- Graham Stephen says:
  
  October 10, 2011 at 5:38 pm
  
  Thanks Ian. It was a damp and dull day – prefect mood for a graveyard, I guess – and I liked the way the diffuse light was bouncing off the top edges of the slate headstones.
  
  LikeLike
  
Neil Murphy says:

October 10, 2011 at 6:57 pm

very gothic…great effort

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Petra says:

October 11, 2011 at 8:30 am

Oh, yes! Beautiful set.

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Mark A says:

October 11, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Beautifully observed shots. My favourite is the sixth one. I love the rim lighting outlining the shape of the stone. The precision possible when working in in slate always fascinates me, as does the quality of workmanship exhibited by many slate grave stones.

I also think 19thC North Wales graveyards in particular exhibit a level of skill and artistry in stone decoration that marks them apart from other areas of the UK. There seems to be a delight in the use of decoration and religious imagery almost for its own sake: An exuberance somehow at odds with the grim nature of death and the perceived prim and proper nature of Victorian society. Across the road from me here in the Midlands, the 19thC grave stones are stern, plain and sometimes mawkish in their sentiment. Sufficient for their remembrance role and no more. Something to do with differing national and social identities perhaps?

LikeLike

lynnwiles says:

October 13, 2011 at 12:54 am

Beautiful and tasteful tribute to the wonderful art in cemeteries. You really captured it well, Graham.

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