Genealogy Chat

Charles - this matter is intriguing me! If the PCC could not help you, or the local minister - try the Bishop - and if he cannot help then kick up a stink in the local rag - someone is responsible for that headstone and it's safety! By appealing for information you might find that others have experienced the same problem. I have never heard of headstones being pinched - although there is always a first time for everything. It takes our stone masons 2+ beefy guys to erect a memorial or removed one, and there is always an indication that the stone has been moved - disturbed earth etc. Go for it son, get some guns blazing - someone knows something and if all's not well in the churchyard then others should be warned! Keep me posted OK? Jacqui

How the hell do these people get in? Whenever I go to a graveyard, I always pick a time when it is closed. There's chains, padlocks, 6ft spiked metal fences, CCTV, and probably dogs with glowing red eyes round every corner. Short of stealing a tank, I can't see a way in. Yet these people walk out lugging blocks of solid granite.

Jacqui, the memorial was in a churchyard. Nobody in authority was aware of its removal, including the Hon Sec of the PCC(?) or the Reverend Cannon responsible for the area. There was absolutely no need for the stone to be removed for safety reasons. The church itself stands on a hill and this stone was halfway up that hill, far from the entrance. Don't want to bang on about this but it's the not knowing what happened to it that annoys me.

Charles that is very sad indeed! I recently bought a microfiche that pointed to some of my family being at a certain church. When I arrived there seemed to be no memorial stone and yet it had been transcribed only a few years previous. With the help of someone I met in the churchyard, we discovered that the stone was infact a flatstone and buried under six inches of matted grass. We managed to peel it away like a thick rug. It was an incredible feeling! There was revealed the huge standstone memorial to my great*5 grandparents from 1842 in perfect condition. Sadly this is not the case for you, but I do feel compelled to revisit the graves and photographe them just in case!

Charles - was the memorial in a Churchyard or a cemetery? There is a difference. The cemetery would have come under the jurisdiction of the local authority, and the churchyard under the jurisdiction of the Diocese. You might make enquiries from either - as I understand it, if a memorial is to be removed from a churchyard then a Bishops Faculty is required (a formal document requiring the permission of the Bishop before removal can take place, unless another interment was to take place in that grave). Similarly, if in a local authority cemetery, if the memorial were not "safe" (and quite a few old memorials tend to lean a lot) then the authority might have deemed it to be unsafe and despite trying unsuccessful to contact the decendants of the deceased might have taken matters into their own hands to ensure the safety of the public. Worth a try at the local authorities and the Diocese to find out if either know anything about it? Jacqui

Charles, yes this sort of removal (and even the licensed sort if it is done insensitively like at St Pancras last year) is extremely worrying. I know that large empty houses in quiet places often suffer from theft of architectural features and fittings, maybe the stone had some sort of value as building/decorative material of this type. It is amazing that no one noticed it had gone, but I suppose that we often stop looking at things we see often and see what we expect to see rather than what is there. It is lucky that you had a record. I think there may be web sites for recovering stolen architectural salvage, though I dont know the URL of any, but you could possibly post your photo if you could find one? Pam

I agree with what you say Pamela, but what bothers me is what happens to a very large gravestone, weighing enough I suspect to need four strong men to carry it. Nobody at the church even knew the stone was missing until I pointed it out. As I said it is a quiet country church on private land away from a road, and the stone was still in position at the head of the grave when I first saw it. I am mystified.

Some family history groups and local archaeological societies record cemetaries and memorial inscriptions. This is extremely valuable both from a family history and social history point of view, and it gets you out in the fresh air with a like minded group of people. If you have time why not get in touch with your local groups to see if there is anything like that going on (or people in the local council archaeology section in planning Dept or Sites and Monuments Record who often get copies of results may know if there is anything like that in your area) Pam

Reminder to everyone who finds a family memorial to photograph it. I recently returned to a cemetery where I saw (and photographed) a memorial only to find it missing! Nobody from cemetery staff to Vicar could throw any light on the disappearance, from a small secluded country church, and I am so glad I photographed it while I could.