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The ICCM Journal | Summer 2021 | V89 No. 2
book review by Alan José Designs on Death, The Architecture of Scottish Crematoria by Hilary J Grainger
The eagerly awaited book that was to give a real insight to crematoria in Scotland was published last October (2020) and it certainly does not disappoint. The book is indeed a hefty tome by any definition and quite probably the most impressive looking book ever to have been published featuring crematoria anywhere in the world. Whilst Designs on Death may not necessarily be a coffee table book of choice for the majority of people, for those of us who live and breathe details of the buildings that provide places of peace, serenity and reverence where families can mourn their dead, this is a pinnacle. Hilary Grainger specialises in late nineteenth and twentieth – century architecture and has in her book been able to relate the story of the development of cremation in Scotland which makes for fascinating reading, explaining how it was that it was Glasgow and not Edinburgh that was to be the first to have a crematorium built. The detailed descriptions of Glasgow (Maryhill) crematorium designed by James Chalmers which opened in 1895 together with some impressive photographs which include some dating from the 1920’s give a real insight to Scotland's first crematorium; the very slow progress of cremation being accepted and to Chalmers’ close association with the building for over 30 years until his death in 1927. No less impressive detail is afforded to each of the other thirty crematoria operating in Scotland today, (Aberdeen Kairnhill which opened in 1938 and closed in 1975 when the new Hazlehead crematorium opened). Hilary’s attention to detail and her enthusiasm for her subject takes readers on a journey of 124 years of design research and development of the cremation industry in Scotland and the buildings, many of which have been adapted, altered and extended to meet public expectations and they have served and indeed are serving the bereaved of Scotland so well in the 21st Century. This is a book to be enjoyed by all who work in the crematorium sector and a book to be studied by architects looking to provide the best of crematorium design for the future. Alan José
