Margaret Tenison Murray – Old Kirk Braddan (Church of St. Brendan) – Braddan, Isle of Man - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

A white marble memorial for Margaret Tenison Murray inside Old Kirk Braddan (Church of St. Brendan) at Braddan Bridge in Braddan.

This memorial of fine white marble that would do justice to any cathedral is on the south side of the chancel. “Surmounted by a 3D relief of a woman weeping over an urn. Margaret Tenison Murray was the daughter of the Hon. Richard Murray whose memorial graces the opposite wall. This monument was carved by J.S. Farley of 181, Coswell Road, London whose work is to be found mainly in the cemeteries of London. He carried out business from number 12 Coswell Road from 1850 to 1863 and from number 181 for the following three years. It would appear therefore that the monument was not erected until at least four years after Miss Murray’s death.”

Source: 'Old Kirk Braddan: short history and tour’ by the Friends of Old Kirk Braddan with generous assistance from the Isle of Man Bank and Mr Cecil Clutton CBE.

Sculptures of this type were part of the Classicism which held sway in the UK and to a lesser extent on the Isle of Man and of which J.S. Fawley was a leading light.

Mourning “women played an integral part in the funerary rituals in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. In the latter they were paid professional mourners as the more mourners there were at a funeral the more wealthy and prestigious the departed had been in life. In the funeral procession which took place prior to the cremation the professional mourning women, who were not part of the deceased’s family, would loudly wail, rip out their hear and also scratch their faces in mourning according to contemporary records. It was felt that women could more easily express emotions as it was unacceptable for a man to weep in public.”

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The epitaph on the memorial is as follows: