Sunday 21 August 2011

Whitby gravestone


At the top of the almost 200 steps leading up to Whitby church, as one enters the churchyard, one is faced with a gravestone directly exposed to the northern winds. The gravestone has long since been weathered to a gently undulating, scoured surface, devoid of all inscription except for the bottom few lines, which through the years have been sheltered from the elements by a low-lying grave in front. There, after puzzling as to whether she died aged 51 or 61 or maybe younger, one can make out the final sentence of the inscription:

She found in Christ that happiness which the world cannot give.