Martyrs' Graves, Wigtown

A glass plate produced for a postcard showing the Martyrs' Graves in Wigtown graveyard.  The memorial stones, which were erected in the later 18th century, commemorate the burial places of the Wigtown Martyrs.  The Martyrs were Margaret Wilson and Margaret McLachlan who were allegedly executed by drowning in 1685.  Three men, William Johnston, John Milroy and George Walker, were executed in the same year for their adherence to the Covenanting cause.   From Victorian times, the Martyrs' graves were one of the points of interest in the town.  This postcard would have appealed to the many tourists visiting Wigtown in the early years of the 20th century.