Design
Usually carved into stone or sometimes wood, they can be very detailed, with usually only the initials of the married couple, the date of the marriage and sometimes the Coat of arms of the two families, just those of the husband and very rarely the combined coats of arms of both families. In some cases the adornment was religious in nature, such as at 'The Hill' farm mansion house (see photograph) or an artistic design simply placed there as an ornamentation. The designs are found cut into the stone or standing proud of the rock face. Originally some of these stones would have been brightly painted and adorned with gilt.
Marriage Stones
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A Marriage stone above the door to the Formal Gardens at Robertland House, East Ayrshire. Circa 1930.
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The 'Marriage Stone' lintel at 'The Hill' farm, Dunlop, East Ayrshire.
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A view of the 'Marriage stone' lintel positioned over the entrance to 'The Hill' farm mansion house together with the motto "Delights and Adorns" and a Bible held in a hand dexter held upright, suggesting both northern Ireland and Protestantism.
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A Marriage stone set into the old Sawmill near Aiket Castle. The faded markings have been enhanced.
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1811 Marriage stone from the old Nettlehirst Mains Farm near Barrmill, North Ayrshire.
Read more about this topic: Marriage Stone
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)
“With wonderful art he grinds into paint for his picture all his moods and experiences, so that all his forces may be brought to the encounter. Apparently writing without a particular design or responsibility, setting down his soliloquies from time to time, taking advantage of all his humors, when at length the hour comes to declare himself, he puts down in plain English, without quotation marks, what he, Thomas Carlyle, is ready to defend in the face of the world.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The reason American cars don’t sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That’s why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)