Genealogy Chat

It has gone even sillier in one area of the country. After first vandalising the graveyard by laying headstones flat they are now worrying that they are a trip hazard. MB

Thanks for all your tips and advice. I have emailed the man who runs the website for the Necropolis and he not only gave me the address of who I need to write too, and told me to ask them to move the headstone, but also found the photo he had taken over 2 years ago for me that I had lost with my last computer crash - fingers crossed! - Karen

Hey Karen, My mum recentely got a gravestone put back up (it had been knocked down due to the fact that they said it was unsafe). If you get in touch with someone at your local undertakers then they should be able to give you the number of someone. I think it'll cost about £80 - £100 but its well worth it. My gran was so upset when she went round and it was laying on the ground, they never even asked if we'd lke it fixed! Hope you get it fixed! Mhairi

Zoe - there is/was a great website on the Southern Necropolis which is where I got the help with finding the plot number and the kind man took a photo for me. I will check again and see if there is any upto date info on plans for inscriptions. James - I'll take the advice here and not do something myself, the graveyard is no longer used and has no super. There are rumours that there a are plans for building on it! Karen

Karen it may be worth checking for a local historical type society. I know that the Auld Kirkyard in Stonehouse has a local historian who is making transcriptions of the stones and looks after people visiting the graves there. I would imagine a lot of other places would have something similar as the local history societies are well aware of the importance of the info on the stones Zoe

In my experience, most cemeteries have a Supt in charge , and he has a register of graves and headstones. I would have thought you would be wiser to ask him to arrange whatever work you had in mind, and you pay for it. I think you would be wrong to try and do something off your own bat Jim Heblin

thanks for all your replies. I think I'll contact the council first. Whilst I'd love to restore the gravestone properly if finances allow, I have to admit I just really really want the info so it was a good suggestions to tip it to read and replace it back where it is and can't harm anyone. Really hope its worth it!

They are often laid down on purpose as they are dangerous. A churhyard fairly local to me has a sign up about this and says that a toddler was killed by a falling gravestone.

If you get the OK from the council you might have to uses a contractor (or be told to) this could cost you a few £100. If not you are going to need about a dozen people as some grave stones can be in the Tons (yours sound like it could be about 1/2 a Ton or more) If they have alredy removed it then there is a good chance its not gone far. The church in Andover were my dad was buried put the old stones around the wall of the church yard as do others I have been to. If not I think they have to keep them safe incase a relle wishes to clame them.

Hi Pat, I think as this is a tiny village church (they had 4 people at morning prayers sadly) I think the warden may be quite happy for us to do it. Hubby is an engineer/builder. I have suggested that she contacts a stone mason college and gets some students on work experience weeks up to the church for other repairs.

Hi Karen I hope you are able to sort out the headstone and hopefully restore it to its former glory!! I am so lucky in that in one of the tiny Welsh villages where many of my ancestors are buried, the little cemetery is so very well kept and regularly maintained by a lovely old man (who turned out to be another relation!!!) and he does this under his own steam, mowing the grass around stones etc and holly wreaths the gates at Christmas. The last time I was there another family was visiting a few graves and said to me you must be so and so's grandaughter, you're the spitting image of her when she was young!!! it turned out they were childhood friends of my grandmother and told me loads of stories!!!! You never know who you might meet in graveyards!!!! lost gravestones or the living!!!! Sarah

Trouble is that unless someone visits regularly they possibly wouldn't know until they went and found nothing there. Whether they store the displaced gravestones I have no idea.

Heather, I've been laughing then thought what a great idea to have broken or defunct gravestones of your rellies at home! I would love them in my garden, too! I bet you it will happen because cemeteries only seem to spend their money on the rellies of the still living - it's worth asking about, I'm sure, and the stones would have cost someone a fortune.

If thats the case Julie and I dont doubt it! we should be able to claim the stones as our own as obviously our ancestors paid out for them. I would be happy to have one in my garden, dont know about anyone else!

I don't know if anyone else has heard about this but because of the compensation culture the council/cemetary workers are going round and pushing the headstones over if they are loose. What happens to them afterwards I don't know. It was in the paper not long ago - council vandalism it was called. In the cemetary where my parents grave is most of the area around them is now just grass as they clear the stones,curbs away when the subsidence causes them to come apart. Also the cemetary office doesn't keep records of the addresses of people 'emotionally connected' to the graves.

Oh dear, thats the problem with internet, you tend to do shorthand, I shall have to alter that to proper English!! Yes, I bet you were a bit concerned about it being drilled out too!

Oh Heather :-) The 'bottom part of your relly' I have visions of a neat little tag with the 'beautful legend' on it tied to his toe... oh dear sorry!!!! the mind boggles And the rest of him under some shrubs LOL eeek Sylvia

Yes, you must do something about it, because no one else will value it. I found the bottom part of one of my rellies gravestones (1825) just sticking out of the ground at the churchyard. I was totally on my own so had a good mooch. I found the rest of it laying up against the church wall under some shrubs. It has the most beautiful inscription on it saying how well thought of this man was and honest and had gone to heaven at peace with all men on earth. I must do something about it. I asked the church warden if it could be reinstated (the church has no money) but my hubby has now offered to drill into the part still in the ground, insert stainless steel rods and then drill into the larger part and fit it over the rods and then use commercial adhesive. They are thinking about it.

Julie - this necropolis is no longer in use so I guess they don't pay it much attention. but you've now got be thinking, what if they suddenly decide to remove it before I get to see it?! It was such a chance find. When I was starting out on this research I put in a burial fiche not realising I needed to know which cemetary etc and the first page had my ancestor on it. After hours of walking around the cemetary to no avail I found it had a website and the kind man found the plot number and sent me a photo of the grave.

Karen I have blonde moments all the time LOL You are lucky the headstone is still there, were i live they would be removed if their faling over / fallen without any notice to next of kin Julie