I have some interest in graveyards having been recently involved in the restoration of the graveyard at St Marys, Moseley [more specifically recording the memorial inscriptions & researching their family histories].
The comments made in 2010 [yes, I know it's a long time ago] about St Barnabus are probably unfair. I think the churchyard was a "closed churchyard" & the responsibility of the local authority not the church. The responsility for maintaining individual graves rests [legally] with the owner of the grave not the church. Most churches these days are run on a shoestring & don't have the resources for a major restoration of their churchyard. St Barnabus would have given the required 8 months notice back in the day that they intended to carry out work in the churchyard. Where were the relatives, local community and volunteers then? Too easy to criticize but opt out of helping.
St Barnabus churchyard as mentioned suffers from serious subsidence and is dangerous to work in.
The monumental inscriptions record mentioned by Fentham is still available from the BMSGH or the Midlands Ancestry site as a downloadable file at £11.50.
The Good News: this is copied from St Barnabus website:
St. Barnabas Churchyard Renovation Project
This is to advise the public that there are future plans for parts of the churchyard to be renovated in 2020. Excessive green overgrowth and brambles will need to be cleared to enable old graves to be catalogued. We intend where possible to keep all safe and in scripted markers and headstones on site, even if it’s not possible to keep them in their original position.
For all queries please email:
[email protected]
Possibly delayed by pandemic but I wish them luck with their project. If you are in the area, take a look at the graveyard at St Marys, Moseley to see what can be achieved with Heritage Lottery Funding.