Jessie Mann & Ida Bonanomi, a Photographer & Queen's Dresser buried in Rosebank Cemetery Edinburgh

Hope you enjoy this video about two amazing ladies buried in Rosebank Cemetery here in Edinburgh. They're both slightly forgotten from history, but I'd like to celebrate these interesting women, who now lie here at peace in this lovely cemetery. If you'd like a tour of Edinburgh, you can book on my website - https://www.davidwheater.com it'd be lovely to meet you :-)

Rosebank Cemetery is located in central Edinburgh, about a half hours walk from the city centre. It's one of many lovely cemeteries in Edinburgh which have some incredible people laid to rest. Jessie Mann was the photographic assistant to the photographic pioneers of the early 1840's, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson. She helped them in their photographic studio at Rock House, which still exists to this day at Calton Hill. These days it's a holiday home, but it's amazing to think of all the early work in photography that was done there by the three of them. Jessie was much loved and was clearly an incredibly skilful and talented photographer, and in some ways was probably a better all-rounder than Hill & Adamson, being able to do both their jobs. She really deserves recognition, and was quite likely to be the first female professional photographer in the world.

Queen Victoria was no stranger to Rosebank Cemetery. She paid for the plots and headstones of three of her much loved servants - Ida Bonanomi, the Queen's dresser and also Owen Gough and Charles Watty, who served her for 50 and 40 years, respectively, at Holyrood Palace. All of their gravestones are next to each other, and it's thought that Queen Victoria visited Rosebank over many years to pay her respects to them.

Like so many of Edinburgh's cemeteries and burial grounds, it's a very peaceful place to visit and is home to a lot of urban wildlife, which is really lovely. I really enjoyed my visit - even if it took me over an hour to find Jessie's final resting place! :-)

Thanks so much for watching and I will be back soon with an extended video of Holyrood Park.

Best wishes & thanks, David

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