Monument Analysis: Pioneer Square

Our group decided to do our Monument Analysis Project on the monuments of Pioneer Square in downtown Victoria, BC. We set the scope of our analysis to the monuments in the Pioneer Square park and excluded the crypts associated with the adjacent Christ Church Cathedral (as they were not accessible to us at the time we were on site). We also excluded the monuments grouped along the eastern border of the park from individual study, as they were too numerous, out of context, and in such poor condition as to be mostly unreadable. However, we felt the aforementioned monuments to be significant enough to be marked on the map as a group (see: Monument Grouping 21).

View Pioneer Square, Victoria, BC. in a larger map

We divided a list of the monuments into sections and each of the group members was responsible for documenting the monuments on their portion of the list (I documented monuments 1-4 on the above map). While I was gathering data, two major questions occurred to me:

• What efforts have been made to preserve and maintain the existing monuments?
• What are the meanings of the Masonic symbols on the Andrew Phillips obelisk?

Pritchard Tomb, Pioneer Square

1. Efforts Towards Monument Conservation

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate much data regarding the general conservation efforts at the site. The majority of the original monuments were made with sandstone, which is not well-suited for monument construction in this climate. Some monuments were moved when Pioneer Square was officially decommissioned as a cemetery and turned into a park in 1908. Many of the monuments have already been damaged by erosion past the point of readability and very few remain in their original context.

However, one monument that I catalogued has been the subject of concentrated preservation efforts in recent decades. Known as the Pritchard Tomb, it is a memorial that marks the tomb containing the remains of Captain Thomas Pritchard and his wife Margaret Pritchard*. It is a tall pedestal-style sandstone monument with white marble insets on each side. It sits on top of a wide platform constructed from sandstone paving stones. The lower portion of the monument suffered from erosion due to plant matter that was growing around the base and up the sides for many decades (factors for both physical and chemical erosion), water damage from City of Victoria sprinklers that watered grass in the area, and weathering due to Victoria's wet environment. 

Since 1995, several things have been done to preserve this monument. First, the bushes and trees that surrounded the monument were removed, as well as creeping plants, mosses, and lichens. Second, the Old Cemeteries Society asked the City of Victoria to stop watering the grass around the Pritchard Tomb, and the City complied with the request. Third, a chemical compound was used to treat the remaining sandstone in order to maintain the stone's integrity and slow or prevent further erosion. As of 2012, these efforts appear to have been successful. The monument continues to be well maintained and does not demonstrate significant changes when compared to photographs taken in 1995.


2. Meanings of the Masonic Symbol on Andrew Phillips Obelisk

According to The Old Cemetery Society's walking tour website, the Andrew Phillips Obelisk is inscribed with the insignia for the square and calipers, the all-seeing eye and the plumb bob, however, this information is partially incorrect. I was unable to locate the "all-seeing eye" insignia anywhere on the monument when I collected my data. Instead, the inscribed insignia on the obelisk portion of the monument are as follows:

• North face: the level
• East face: the square and calipers (or compass)
• South face: the plumb-bob
• West face: the square and calipers

Although the square and calipers were easily recognizable, I was unfamiliar with the symbols for the level and the plumb-bob. I drew a quick sketch of each of the symbols as I saw them (making note of where they appeared on the monument) so I could research their meanings later. After some searching, I was able to match the unknown symbols with known references (found primarily at this website, but supported by other material as well) and determined that they were of the level and the plumb-bob respectively.

Most of the symbols contain both a moral or theological lesson and a parallel to their origins as construction tools. The meanings ascribed to the symbols vary slightly from source to source, but in general they are as follows:

• Square and Calipers/Compass: The universal symbol of the Freemasons. The square represents squaring your actions with mankind/ society. The Calipers represent the need for moderation and the circumscribing of personal desires.
• Level: Represents travel across the horizontal plane of Time. It is also the emblem of the Senior Warden of a Masonic Lodge.
• Plumb-bob: Represents being upright in one's station. It is also the emblem of the Junior Warden of a Masonic Lodge.

*The Old Cemeteries Society walking tour website gives Mrs. Pritchard's name as "Elizabeth", but the monument inscription clearly gives her name as Margaret.

Sources:
http://www.masonsmart.com/freemason-symbols.html
http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/psp/html/reports/walking_tour/index.htm
http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/psp/html/reports/pritchard_interim/index.htm
http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/psp/html/reports/pritchard_final/index.htm
http://www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk/downloads/8Introductiontogr.pdf
http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/pdfs/prkimp-consult-pioneer-square-display-panels.pdf