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Unsafe Headstones

terryb18

terryb18

Gone but not forgotten R.I.P.
Some years ago there was a purge on what was perceived to be headstones that were unsafe. They had some people go round and either supported them or laid them flat, and didn't they charge or try to charge, the owners of the graves? I haven't heard anything about this for a while, so does this practice still continue?

Terry
 
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Still doing it as of last year at our local church yard here in Cornwall. To be fair there were a few dating back to the 1800's that were on the verge of falling over and those were the days of the extremely large headstones.
 
This practise was still carried on at Robin Hood Cemetery a few years ago and my parents headstone was considered unsafe though there were no obvious signs that the stone had 'moved' and we had to pay approx. £700 to have it repaired by the cemetery authorities. At that time there was coloured tape over various graves to show they were in a
'dangerous' condition but I haven't recently seen any tapes but there are many gravestones still lying on the ground. We were very unhappy at having to pay this large amount of money as only 7/8 years before the headstone was removed for additional wording to be added and then replaced by craftsmen and it seemed very solid and safe.
 
Standing headstones now have to have a metal rod inserted into them and the ground to keep them vertical. At Widney Manor the gravestones are actually on paths at the heads of the graves rather than on the grave itself - health and safety I suppose. It does mean they all line up well.
 
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