Image shows a bronze sculpture of the sky terrier, Greyfriars Bobby. Its a life-size image
Brenda

Greyfriars Bobby – A tale of loyalty taken to the grave

Setting the scene

Greyfriars Graveyard in Edinburgh was established in 1562 by Mary, Queen of Scots. It’s a beautiful green space with some interesting sights on offer, and has borne witness to some significant events such as the signing of The National Covenant in 1638. However, They are stories for another day. Today, I want to tell you about an example of unwavering fidelity which centres are around the graveyard.

Image shows an end view of Greyfriars Kirk showing stained glass windows. In the foreground is a grass lawn with mature trees and a few headstones. At the foreground, in front of the grass is a path a
Greyfriars Kirk

You may or may not be familiar with the story of Greyfriars Bobby, either through stories or a few films that have been made for over the years, including one by Disney.

Greyfriars Bobby – the true story

Around summer 1858 a small dog is seen accompanying a funeral at Greyfriars Kirkyard. Once the body of his master is buried and everyone has left, the dog remains, sleeping on top of the unmarked grave.

Over the next couple of evenings, the superintendent of the burial ground tries to chase the dog away from the site, but each morning when James Brown arrives, the dog has returned, continuing his vigil at the graveside. This constant attendance by this little dog lasted for 14 years until his own death in 1872. It was believed that our little terrier was about 2 years old when his master died.

The example of such devotion and loyalty captured the hearts of many and while there do seem to have been examples of people attempting to coax Bobby into their homes, he remained loyal, devoting himself to protecting his master’s grave and refused to move.

That’s the general story of Greyfriars Bobby. He stayed close to his master’s grave throughout the remaining 14 years of his life. That said, there are some noteworthy occurrences during thos,e 14 years. Let’s now look at them with the use of a timeline.

Image shows headstone of Greyfriars Bobby with a pile of sticks sitting in front of the headstone
Greyfriars Bobby’s headstone with sticks left on his grave
Image shows a large flowerbed full of blooming flowers. In the centre of the flowerbed is a monument to Greyfriars Bobby with a replica of the Skye Terrier dog
Monument to Greyfriars Bobby sitting in front of the Kirk

Timeline

1858As discussed already, this year sees the death of the Master of Bobby, the Skye Terrier and the arrival of the dog in the cemetery sleeping on his Master’s grave

Bobby became very popular, with stories being written in newspapers across Scotland and possibly wider afield. This little dog captured the public imagination. Soon the kirkyard was very busy with people visiting to see the devoted little dog. greyfriars Bobby’s fate ended up in the hands of the Edinburgh Magistrates to make a ruling on the dog’s welfare. They ordered James Brown, Kirkyard Superintendent, to take care of the dog and to provide him with shelter in his own home.

Following this ruling, a local restaurant owner agreed that he would feed the dog its dinner at lunchtime, although John Traill did not buy the restaurant until 1862. Greyfriars Bobby got used to his dinner being provided and would head to the restaurant when the one o’clock gun was fired from Edinburgh Castle. Even in 2023, you can still hear the gun at 1pm daily. See https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/see-and-do/highlights/one-oclock-gun for more information.
1867The Dog Duty Act 1867
This legislation was important for our 4-legged hero as it introduced the need for dogs to be licenced. Any dog without an owner (no collar) would be rounded up and you can imagine the fate that would await them. As Bobby had repeatedly refused to go home with anyone to be adopted as their pet, under this new law he would be considered to be a stray.

Enter William Chambers, Lord Provost of Edinburgh who bought a licence for Bobby and a leather collar so he would be allowed to continue his loyal vigil in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The leather dog collar and his feeding bowl can be seen on display in the Museum of Edinburgh.
1869Baroness Burdett-Coutts
The Baroness was concerned with social welfare of the poor and of animals. She was President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA. She had heard about Greyfriars Bobby and travelled to Edinburgh to see this little dog for herself. She commissioned the construction of a water fountain outside of the Kirkyard which was erected in 1873, after our canine friend’s death.
1872Bobby died in 1872 and his body was interred in Greyfriars Kirkyard, near his master’s grave. Photos are shared above.
1873The Water Fountain is erected with a lifesize sculpture of Bobby on top as a testiment to true loyalty. His nose has become discoloured and shiny as visitors to Edinburgh and the Kirkyard pat the dog/rub his nose on passing. The Council has apparently tried to stop these activities but to no avail.
Here’s a link to an image of the full fountain: https://images.app.goo.gl/fvoQJTZ5xskzNV3L9
Image shows a bronze sculpture of the sky terrier, Greyfriars Bobby. Its a life-size image
Image by Stefan Baumgartner from Pixabay

The fictional story

Over time, the story has been edited and embellished, firstly by American, Eleanor Atkinson in 1912 with her novel ” Greyfriars Bobby”. Eleanor identified Bobby’s owner as “Auld Jock”. Although fictional, he was considered by many to be based on Police Constable John Gray who died in february 1858 and is buried in the Kirkyard. As can be seen from the photo, he became caught up in the story of Greyfriars Bobby and was considered to be the dog’s owner. However, contemporary reports indicate that the dog first appeared in the Kirkyard at a funeral a few months after John Gray’s own burial.

Image shows John Gray's headstone. In front of gravestone, sticks for playing fetch with his dog have been left on his grave
John Gray’s Headstone with sticks left, linking him to Greyfriars Bobby

Reflecting on all the facts I have been able to glean, I’d say people find the idea of being able to identify and give a name to the Master of this inspiring Skye Terrier rather than have him mourning at the graveside of an unidentified, nameless soul attractive. It doesn’t fit with the idea of a good story to have such an important character as an unknown.

Regarding John Gray, it was not uncommon, in those days, for Police Constables to have their own dogs accompany them while out on patrol, so its easy to see how a loyal dog would have been at his master’s side in life as in death and how he became closely linked to the story. I guess Police Dogs hadn’t yet been introduced.

Summing up

At the end of the day there are some gaps in the official story of what happened but is that important when the key message we should be taking away is this pet’s loyalty. Loyalty is an important trait we are always seeking and I’ll be exploring this more soon in a post on Wise & Shine, looking particularly at the employment relationship and how loyalty fits in and where the problems might arise. Stay turned so you don’t miss the link and if you haven’t yet signed up for my blog, then now’s your chance using the link below.

37 comments

  1. Thank you for sharing that. What a great story of enduring love and loyalty. It reminds me of the Hebrew word, Hesed. A really big word with 70 different meanings, but the root of it, in English, means “sticky love”.

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  3. I knew the name, but very little about the backstory Brenda, thank you for telling it here! I am always touched by these types of stories, even if they are embellished in some ways. Something had to start the tale and it is really comforting to me anyway to believe that there was a distinct connection between a human and an animal.

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  5. “… message we should be taking away is this pet’s loyalty.”
    so true and what an amazing story and beautiful history behind it. Thank you for sharing.
    thoroughly enjoyed, dear Brenda 🤍✨

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  8. Love this beautiful post Brenda! The wonderful dog and how you teased out the relationship and history with all the people who cared for him with a timeline. What a wonderful story of canines and humans! Good for my soul. Thank you!

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  9. Oh, what a touching story… It reminds me of Hachiko (Japan’s most loyal dog). It is indeed true that one of the dog’s greatest quality is being loyal to its master.

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  10. What a beautiful and inspiring story of the loyalty of a dog towards its owner. Thanks for sharing Brenda ❤️

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  13. Oh my goodness…it’s been a busy week and I missed this post. Thank you so much. A story that’s new to me…and I adore every bit. Thank you, Brenda! 🥰

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  14. Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, therefore I was absolutely delighted to stumble upon your wonderful blog, Brenda. I look forward to following your blog and reading more about your outings in and around the Scottish capital. Cheers, Aiva xx

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    • Aw thank you. I live in Glasgow, so there will be a few from here too. But I plan to explore Scotland … and the rest of the world 😁

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