Betty Corrigall's grave by ingrid2101

Betty Corrigall's grave

I really wanted to do this more justice but the weather was against me. This has to be the saddest grave I've ever come across. Betty Corrigall was a young girl living in Hoy In the 1770's who became pregnant. She was unmarried and the father of the child abandoned her and ran away to sea. The shame of being an unwed mother then was another world and she tried to kill herself by walking into the sea, she was rescued but hung herself a few days later. Because she comitted suicide she was buried in an unmarked grave between two parishes. Her grave was found by two men cutting peats in the 1930's, she was reburied until soldiers here during the war found her and dug her up for the curiosity, Her grave was moved. Finally an American minister who was visiting gave her a cross and a service. It sits on a very bleak and isolated part of land and it makes me grateful to be a woman now rather than 250 years ago
HP5 Nikon FE
Such a very sad story. Agree, grateful to be a woman in today's time. Eerie image. Great in b/w.
August 7th, 2013  
Sad story! Your image does do it justice.
August 7th, 2013  
sad story and a very moody capture - love it in b&w!
August 7th, 2013  
Yes, a really sad story. The image does convey the bleakness of it .Fav.
August 7th, 2013  
Powerful image & story. I too am defo glad to not have felt that shame myself. Cracking portrayal as at first glance it is dark & bleak. I looked again & the lit path intrigued me to walk in & look/read story. Clever. Fav
August 7th, 2013  
but also angry at the way women have been treated and still are today in the world, with religion often the excuse??

took a foreign minister to forgive her is a shame on the local clergy I guess. super picture. Does it say all this on her stone?
August 7th, 2013  
have you seen the film breaking the waves by Lars von Trier? very amazing. reminded of this. The graves made out of fibreglass!
August 7th, 2013  
I'm not sure which bit horrifies me more; that she felt that she had no other option, or the way her body has been treated for years. As an un-wed mother, I'm certainly glad I'm here and not there!
August 7th, 2013  
Horrible story. You're picture has captured the bleakness.
I hope she's finally at peace.
August 7th, 2013  
Agree with Helen. Poor girl. Great photo and thanks for the commentary.
August 7th, 2013  
Heavy. Poor woman. Born in a wrong time. You managed to give it the righteous drama.
August 7th, 2013  
You've caught the mood perfectly -- dark and lonely and bleak and so very sad. Yes, we are fortunate indeed to have made progress since Betty Corrigall's day -- a very unfortunate young woman with a shocking fate. Fav because it gives me much to ponder.
August 7th, 2013  
Awesome shot! Youve managed to portray a very sombre image, such a sad story or have i just got something in my eye:( Big FAV !!
August 7th, 2013  
fav.
August 8th, 2013  
Love this shot. I like how you managed to keep detail in the darks, without overwhelming the tones.
August 8th, 2013  
Very evocative shot fav
August 8th, 2013  
A sobering story and a powerful image. Wow.
August 8th, 2013  
a troubling story and impactful shot... fav!
August 8th, 2013  
Mac
That poor woman, such a tragedy. I wish the local church would have reached out in more enlightened times. Wonderful shot.
August 8th, 2013  
You captures the bleakness of the story perfectly. Not sure a sunny day would have done it justice. Wonderful job.
August 8th, 2013  
Great subject and nice photo!
August 8th, 2013  
Wonderful shot
August 8th, 2013  
Beautiful shot but what a sad story indeed, thank you for sharing, really makes you think how lucky we are as women these days
August 8th, 2013  
Tragic story. The graininess really suits the mood
August 8th, 2013  
lovely shot
August 8th, 2013  
You've really captured the feeling of this sad spot...Fav.
August 8th, 2013  
Wow...what a disturbing story! Thank goodness times have changed. Your image is very powerful!
August 8th, 2013  
A splendid shot and a very sad story. I am doing some work for my father on the concept of "knobstick weddings" where a young man who impregnated a woman out of wedlock, could be forced to do "the decent thing" and marry the girl by a member of the clergy wielding a fearsome stave.
August 8th, 2013  
Such a moving story- thanks for sharing that. Great in b&w
August 8th, 2013  
Stunning and an instant Fav!
August 8th, 2013  
FAV, fav, fav!!! I wish I could hit fav more than once. I love this Ingrid.
August 9th, 2013  
Lovely contrast... Very cool composition.
August 9th, 2013  
love the grainy b&w processing
August 9th, 2013  
What a moving picture and story. Gave me chills! Fav.
August 9th, 2013  
Great story and a wonderful pic to go with it!!
August 9th, 2013  
Saw this on PP and was immediately very drawn to this. Love the mystic and dramatic shot in itself but combined with that story, it´s very powerful shot. I absolutely love how you have used the light here to create great intensity, grave and the path to there is white just like it would be inviting me to take a walk there. Fav!
August 9th, 2013  
Ingrid you sad story so captures the desperation this young girl must of felt! It is a beautiful photograph and if she some how knows, you have done her justice...A Fav!
August 9th, 2013  
Beautiful picture, very moving story. I love the effect that the black and white has on the picture! a Fav!
August 9th, 2013  
@chewyteeth I haven't seen that film in ages, back when Film four was good - they had a whole season of Lars von Trier, bleak indeed. There's a plaque at the roadside giving all the information, I took photos with my iphone as the memory is soo bad. Been taking any photos recently ??
August 9th, 2013  
I have seen this grave and heard the tale when I visited many years ago, so very unjust, even after death to be treated that way is totally appalling. As a women with children who has by choice never married I feel privileged to have the freedom of choice denied to women in the past and still denied them to this day in other parts of the world. RIP Betty Corrigall. A beutifully evocative story illustrated well by the dark imagery here. A fav.
August 9th, 2013  
Totally powerful image. Wow -- what a story. Your commentary is moving and as powerful as the image itself.
August 10th, 2013  
Your commentary always adds so much to your wonderful photos. Fav.
August 10th, 2013  
there's lots of pics of it on the tinternet, but this is the best.

I've been doing bits...some pinhole with Liam actually which was pretty amazing using 4/5 sheet film. I've got a few new cameras. I'm trying to find a job so its been shelved mostly. I loved that film!
August 10th, 2013  
JH
I'd say you've totally done her justice, insofar as anyone can now. It's a very powerful shot. Poor, poor woman.
August 11th, 2013  
That story nearly made me cry! We are so lucky today. You have really captured the mood and emotion and I love the lines. A fav
August 12th, 2013  
A beautifully moving image to the memory of Betty.
August 15th, 2013  
Moving, haunting. Fav
August 19th, 2013  
Oh wow. What a sad story. And your photo is hauntingly sad...fav
December 26th, 2013  
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