Seeking general advice about mapping and photographing a local graveyard

[Luzzu]

Hi,

A small group of Rootschatters (four of us actually) have been having some very, very preliminary discussions off thread about trying to organise a volunteer project to map and photograph a local municipal graveyard and I just want to ask if anyone has been involved in this sort of thing before who could offer advice.  I am talking very generally at the moment because we want to make sure we can get things moving before we make any announcements on the county board.

This came about because one of us visited the graveyard and was so intimidated by the activities of some unsavoury characters (yobs/druggies?) she felt she had to leave immediately.  She was not alone but nevertheless felt threatened.  This was coupled with the appalling state of the cemetery due to vandalism and lack of maintenance.  In fact some raised flower beds had been made from broken tombstones.  In one part of the cemetery it is possible to actually see inside some of the vaults which is appalling and very sad. We feel strongly about this because if nothing is done eventually it will be flattened and grassed over and all the history in there will be lost forever.  In addition, the burial records for this cemetery are in a very poor condition.

What we would like to do is to photograph (hopefully in one day) all visable gravestones.  We appreciate we would be unable to dig for buried stones or lift toppled stones and we understand there may be collapsed graves and this will entail lifting equipment and special licences for working with graves so we feel this would be beyond our capabilities.  We understand the cemetery is closed to new burials now.   We are not trying to refurbish the graveyard but to preserve the information contained therein.  The photographs would then be transcribed and presented on either a disk or website.  We would not want the result to be used for commercial purposes but for personal use by family historians.

Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

Luzzu

[nigelp]

Hi Luzzu,

You may find the following link helpful:

http://www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk/recording2.shtml

Nigel

[Luzzu]

Thank you.  We will do some reading  .

Luzzu

[Valda]

Hi

It might be worth contacting the local family history society. They usually have experience of 'mapping and transcribing churchyards' and some societies have worked on cemeteries. They should also be able to tell you whether anything is in the pipeline or has begun or previously whether some work was done before on that particular cemetery. They should also be able to advise on safety issues with gravestones that maybe are unsafe.

It maybe that whoever now administers the cemetery has designated it as a wildlife sanctuary or parts of it at least, in which case that needs to be taken into consideration.


Regards

Valda

[mshrmh]

Luzzu - There's a guide on this link:
http://www.gravematters.org.uk/index.htm
probably similar to the one from Nigelp, but just in case..

Best wishes for the project!

[Luzzu]

Hi Valda and mshrmh,

Thanks for your replies and for the link.  We have just heard back from the local FHS and they have offered their support so that is a major boost.  You have made a good point about whether part of it has been designated as a wildlife area.

It seems like a case of one step forward, three back at the moment.  Some days we feel really positive and then other days we feel we must be mad to even attempt something like this.

Luzzu

[Plummiegirl]

Just a quick suggestion, surely most cemetary offices or the church of graveyard concerned have maps of their site at their offices.
Every time I have visited a cemetary, I have gone to the site office and told them the grave I was looking for and they provided me with a  map and marked the area where my "grave" was. 

All the plots are shown usually in block numbers, and it is a very useful piece of paper if for you if you want to "map" out and itemise/photo graves.

Sorry if this appears to be teaching gran to suck eggs!!!

[Luzzu]

Hi,

Thanks Plummiegirl.  There is a plan of the cemetery in existence but the grave numbers are not mapped.  The cemetery is Manchester General and only open now to existing grave owners and probably if nothing is done, the information will be lost for ever.

http://www.twbaird.co.uk/cemplans/harpurhey.html

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,481713.0.html

Appreciate your interest and reply.

Luzzu

[old rowley]

Hi Luzzu,

I have, for sometime now, been doing what you are proposing to do at the MGC but on a smaller scale as the graveyard that I am transcribing the inscriptions from is far smaller. What started out as "oh it should only take a weekend" project has now stretched into a couple of years as I am working on my own and tend to do the entering of the information into the computor when ever I get a chance.

I have also taken a slightly different approach to how you are wishing to go about this as not only do I take photographs of the gravestone in question but I also write out the inscriptions into an A4 pad at the side of the grave by doing this I know that I have a clear (where possible) direct copy of the inscription as sometimes the photograph may miss something (more so if you find a heavy shadow across the stone or the camera has not picked something up properly). Another thing that I do is to measure the stone and also describe it. This description is added to the information as well as where the grave/stone is situated and also which graves are either side of it (makes it easier when you go back to check up on something or if, indeed, the grave marker disappears over time.

I am also lucky in that I have been given access to the burial register for the cemetery as well as having a copy of the plots & their burial numbers. The plan of the graveyard I have had laminated and I use it when I go out to do a bit more as this way it does not matter is it rains or if the plan gets muddy at all.

OR.