Protecting our gravestones and memorials

[toad]

Is it just Merseyside or does the sheer malicious vandalism of our graveyards and memorials happen all over the world?? I broach this subject because I have visited 3 local graveyards in the last few weeks all of which have a great deal of deliberate damage . The one I saw today had a fairly recent headstone smashed in two, making me think that something like a hammer was taken to do it on purpose . Whatever happened to the days when we were taught as children to respect these places? It must be soul destroying for the family's of those in these graves to find such wanton destruction when they visit.  Anyway sorry for the rant but I really am angry that we are letting this happen. Anyone any ideas about what can be done (or even is being done) to stop this kind of thing happening? Apart from having justice go back to what they did to the likes of thief's and vandals in the 1700's and hang them

[apanderson]

I'm afraid the vandalism seems to be countrywide.

I live in Stirlingshire and over the past couple of years have seem a massive rise in the wanton destruction in graveyards and cemeteries.

I visited one in the east end of Glasgow recently (Sandymount) and was disgusted at the state it was in - only in this particular cemetery it wasn't 'vandals' as such. The Council had obviously seen it in their wisdom to have someone go round all the sections and paint great big black letters, on the end stone of each row, which lair, row or whatever this was. I couldn't believe my eyes! Stones, some of them dating from the mid 1800's all with huge big black painted numbers on them.

I hope this isn't their way of decreasing the amount of enquiries they get for people looking for their ancestors!

If you have a look at the thread 'Do we need a Graveyard Board?', you'll see that there's an ever increasing amount of fellow Rootchatters who are more than willing to photograph graveyards and cemeteries - it won't do anything to stop the vandalism now but at least in the future, there will be the chance that someone somewhere will have a record of stones which might otherwise be lost forever.

Anne

Anne

[tabitha]

Unfortunately Toad the individuals happy to vandalise a headstone are likely to have no respect for the living, how can society expect them to respect the dead 

Tabitha

[Andi R]

I think the biggest vandals in gaveyards are local councils, how many times have you seen graveyards where all the gravestones have been removed and laid flat in some cases made into paths

My local town moved all the graves and gravestones in a churchyard and lost the grave stone and grave of --- the grandmother of George Washington, this is vandalism.  The amount of desicration done in the 70's (decade of destruction) by local councils was appaling.

We have another churchyard that is now a park where all the stones are to one corner which must be the local dog toilet, as I found out when looking for a gravestone

The land or plot of a grave is bought and belongs to that family, and it is wrong to just rip all the stones up.  People in the past have scimped and saved to get a stone erected in "Loving Memory"

I am going to a church tomorrow and a terrace around the church is made from guess what

Sorry people a whinge, but I think it so sad

Andrew

[Man of Kent]

I very much agree with Andrew, Councils are the biggest culprits.
We here in Kent are getting the Notices on Graves," removal of unauthorized plant pots/ornaments or else signs", or the Health and safety "The stone may fall over and injure a child type"
Much of the Damage is caused by plant and machinery used to cut grass etc.
The result, loose and damage tombstones and silly notices warning of fines or removal.
We in Gillingham have an historic church which dates back to Saxon times, 95 percent of graves have been lawned over, and a children's playground placed in the grounds.

[Andi R]

Thank you

It does annoy me to see graves desicrated and vandalised, regardless of who caused it  I do think councils should be more responsible especially with war graves which I have seen in terrible states

Andrew

[Rebecca Steele]

I get so angry when I hear of graveyards being smashed up. I really feel for the relatives concerned. However old the grave is.

Quite recently the graveyard where my great aunt, grandfather and grandmother are buried was targeted.  Luckily their joint grave was spared. But every time I visit it, I wonder whether it will still be there.

Another thing that angers me is when graveyards get very overgrown. I can see no reason for this whatsoever. I went up to Worcestershire a couple of weeks ago, to hunt for some ancesters graves .... I didn't find any, but that could be because a large part of the churchyards were covered in brambles, stinging nettles, ivy etc  . Its not a wonder that so many graves are ruined.

Surely it wouldn't cost that much to keep the whole churchyard from becoming overgrown.

[GRACELAND]

A lot of churches Around here pay some company to come in and Strim all the weeds off once an month

  This keeps it Down there was also on a real old small Cem in Gloucester Where A city Farm Put sheep in to clear it ,
it worked they did a good job , but this is no good when people are tending the graves ie putting flowers on ,as the sheep eat any thing and every thing 

[MaryA]

Oh yes, I loved that answer, when I was in a Hertfordshire village a year or so ago, they locked the gate into the graveyard so that people wouldn't leave it open during the lambing season as that was where the sheep were kept to graze and keep it tidy.   It did work well, yet when a similar thing was done in a graveyard in the suburbs of Liverpool and the animals from the children's farm were allowed to do the same, there was an uproar about it.  Sometimes there's just no winning.

This picture was of Anfield cemetery, again Liverpool, last weekend, the Catholic area.  As you can see it is kept nice and tidy, but you can also see those headstones which are considered "dangerous" having been checked for Health and Safety and notices were put on them allowing a certain number of days for them to be made safe or else they would be laid down to prevent accidents.

Many of these stones were very old and may well not have descendants to look after them, so what will happen to them now? will they just be left to sink into the ground.  Mostly they were laid on their face so that the inscriptions couldn't be read.

Mary