Robert Louis Stevenson in Edinburgh

The Stevenson family tomb at New Calton Burial Ground

Thomas Stevenson, as mentioned earlier, came from a family of distinguished lighthouse engineers. Thomas himself was a pioneering civil engineer and designed over 30 lighthouses in and around Scotland. When he died on May 8th 1887, he was buried in the family tomb at New Calton Burial Ground in Edinburgh. RLS arranged the funeral, which involved over a hundred guests and a procession of between forty and fifty carriages. Leaving from Heriot Row, it was the largest private funeral anyone could remember in the city. Unfortunately RLS , who was struggling with a cold, ran out of energy and was unable to attend the interment.

Other family members buried in the tomb include his father, Robert Stevenson, who designed the iconic Bell Rock Lighthouse, and his brother, Alan Stevenson, who designed Skerryvore Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Scotland. Margaret Stevenson, Thomas’s wife, was also buried here when she died on May 14th 1897. Their memorial stone is the one lying on the ground. Unfortunately, the stone has not aged well and is difficult to read.

Even though it’s very difficult to read, this is what’s inscribed on Thomas and Margaret’s memorial stone:

In Loving Memory
of
Thomas Stevenson, R.S.E. ****
Engineer to the Board of
Northern Lighthouses
Past President of the Royal Society
of Edinburgh
and
Member of the Institute of
Civil Engineers.
“By whose devices the great sea lights
in every quarter of the world now shine
more brightly.”
Born July 22 1818
Died May 8 1887
I am persuaded that death shall not be
able to separate me from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus my Lord

and of his only son
Robert Louis Stevenson
Essayist Poet and Novelist
born at Edinburgh 13th November 1850
died in Samoa 3rd December 1894
and buried on Vaea Mountain.
Every one that loveth is born of God
and knoweth God.

Margaret Isabella Balfour
Wife and mother
Born at Colinton Manse February 11th 1829
Died at Edinburgh May 14th 1897.

Next … Cummy’s Grave