Marker Styles at Ross Bay Cemetery

The styles of markers at Ross Bay Cemetery cover a wide range of influences and forms. You can find upright gravestone markers (stellae), flat in-ground markers, elaborate mausoleums and tall pillars.

In the late 1800s when Ross Bay Cemetery opened, there was a trend to large, opulent markers for those who could afford them. This is easily seen in the grave of Sir James Douglas. Also common were many of the elements that can be seen in Mary Laetitia Pemberton Pearse’s grave. There you can see a plain, upright marker in front a vault with a ledger-stone cover, all surrounded by curbing (the stone edge around the plot). For the less wealthy, the usual form of marker was a simple wooden headboard. There were many of these around Ross Bay Cemetery, but wood decays, and the last surviving wooden marker was replaced in 1983 with a stone one.

Until the turn of the century, curbing was common around graves. Either curbing or a grave fence would normally be erected around a plot, and often both. By the 1920s, large monuments started to go out of fashion, with a more subdued, flat-in-the-ground marker becoming standard. This minimalist style still remains. Due to the cost of maintaining a modern cemetery, many cemeteries allow only flat, in-ground markers.

This has not stopped some families from coming up with unique styles to remember their loved ones. Examples can be seen in modern, innovative or one-of-a-kind styles in Ross Bay Cemetery, such as the licence plate, the tribute to Fred the Fireman or the giant clam shell.

Examples of Marker styles at Ross Bay Cemetery

	A unique remembrance: a vanity licence plate with the word "Aloha" adds character to the family’s traditional stone marker.
Modern memorial that reflects the persons life: Fred was a fireman with the Victoria fire department who died on the job.
	Dr. Harry Helmcken’s Egyptian-influenced mausoleum
Marker influenced by the person’s previous profession
	A common style at Ross Bay Cemetery includes having a tiled surface to the plot
Also common was the use of a fence to surround the plot
	The classic style: there are several examples of this four-post style of monument
Known as "white bronze," this monument is actually made of zinc, which gives it a distinct gray colour. These were popular from 1880 to 1910, and were produced mainly in St. Thomas, Ontario.
	This style is known as a ledger, and may simply be a cap over the grave site, or it may be the lid to a vault.
A modern design
	A unique Celtic-influenced style