Sailor's Grave - Lochranza, Isle of Arran, UK
Posted by: 
martlakes
N 55° 42.353 W 005° 18.871
30U E 354568 N 6175773
Along the raised shore on the north of the Isle of Arran lies this grave. As a suspected cholera victim he was refused burial in Lochranza churchyard. His resting place overlooks the Sound he no doubt sailed up.
Waymark Code: WM3FBE
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/28/2008
Views: 26
The threat of cholera was very real in the 19th century: in 1832 an outbreak in Glasgow cost 3166 lives. Although Arran did not suffer any serious outbreaks the inhabitants of Lochranza would be well aware of the potential danger.
The plaque on the grave reads:
The Sailors Grave
Here lies John McLean
Died 12 August 1854
I've come across three versions of the tale of this grave:
First:
When James McLean died from suspected cholera on a vessel inbound to Glasgow the ship’s request to have him buried in the Lochranza churchyard was refused. Instead his fellow crewmen (supposedly in response to a promise made) secretly buried him beneath a small mound of cobbles on the raised beach to the west of the village.
An alternative version goes like this:
John McLean was emigrating to Canada but was taken ill shortly after he boarded the ship. The crew suspected he had the plague so he was put ashore near Lochranza. He wandered into the village looking for help, but the locals turned him away. He turned round and headed for Catacol but was turned away there too. Starving and very ill, he died by the road. The villagers buried him where they found him and carved a headstone for him that can still be seen today. His ghost is said to haunt the area, constantly walking between the two villages asking for help.
A third version:
In 1854 a ship anchored in the bay off of Lochranza. A man by the name of John McLean had died on board and the crew wanted to bury him in Lochranza. However, the people of Lochranza were fearful that the body of this sailor might bring the plague to the village and so they refused to allow the body to be buried in the churchyard.
The ship's crew had no better luck along the coast at Catacol, where the people also refused to allow the sailor to be buried within the village. A compromise was reached whereby the sailor was buried by the roadside between the two villages, and his grave can be seen today. It became a custom for people to deposit a pebble from the beach upon the sailor's grave as they passed by - as a token of respect, and perhaps apology, that he was not laid to rest within one of the local churchyards.
A similar sailor's grave lies in the woods high above Ardnoe Point, near Crinan. His name was John Black and he died from cholera on his schooner in 1832.