Headstones

Germanshepherdsmum

I think it’s right to clean headstones to the extent necessary to make names and dates clear. People shouldn’t be forgotten and in erecting a headstone that’s what their families were trying to achieve. To hell with the beauty of lichen.

When you visit ancient burial grounds, with the headstones covered in lichen, etc- the names and dates are still very visible and clear.

We can’t all have headstones - there would be no room left for living people. There have been no headstones in my family for several generations now. No burials, either. Everyone has been cremated, and the funeral director, if any, has dealt with the ashes.

I do love looking at very old churchyards, though. So much history there.

I worked in churchyard conservation for many years so know a bit about it. Headstones can be moved, they are the property of the family and efforts should be made by the church (or local authority if it manages the churchyard) to contact the family. Some churchyards/burial grounds have moved headstones and leant them against boundary walls to facilitate grass mowing and for safety reasons when headstones are wobbly. All burial grounds should have a plan with each grave marked and named. Cleaning of headstones is discouraged. Many lichens now survive only in churchyards and they protect the headstone. If the lichen is heavy it might be possibly to read the inscription by wetting the headstone and shining a torch at an angle. The family does not own the grave plot. Church of England dioceses have rules about churchyard management covering what can be put on graves - spring bulbs permitted but graves should not be planted out like a garden. Ornaments are not permitted, flower are OK close to the headstone, preferably in a afixed container. In England (not Wales) a Church of England church can have the churchyard legally closed to new burials (although interment of ashes is usually allowed) and the local authority then takes over the management. The Gravestone Photographic Resourse group is worth contacting - it has extensive records and photographs of headstones and can cross-reference enquirers. I got in touch with distant relatives through this. https.//www.gravestonephotos.com

Sorry dear Pedants: should be Resource!

Grandma70s, same here - all cremated, as will I be I think, hopefully in a cardboard coffin.

Just a word...if your loved ones are buried in churchyards, there are quite strict regulations about what you can and cannot put onto a grave.
Please, always check with the Vicar, because if you don't and things are removed from your family grave because the regulations don't permit it, it can cause all sorts of heartache and distress for all concerned. (Including the Vicar, surprisingly enough.)

Good luck with the genealogy, I’m too old and too lazy to go rooting through graveyards now, although I have done in the past. I’m with Heritage, They do searching, I can search myself too but if they find a match they will email me. Had my DNA done and found lots of new relatives too.

My father tried to visit the graves of his forebears annually to clean and tidy up. Sadly he arrived one year to find a community centre had been build over the oldest ones. I found old gravestones laid as a pathway but never found the family ones.

A couple of years ago, there was a message on a local Facebook page about somebody who had found a gravestone amongst some old paving slabs he'd had stored in his garage.

He deciphered some of the writing and I managed to find a descendant on Ancestry, so I messaged him and told him about the gravestone. He linked up with the person who had found the stone and collected it. I have no idea what he did with it.

Local regulations would need to be checked for legality but I’ve seen cases where people have used talcum powder/chalk powder on difficult to decipher gravestones. It highlights the text so you can read it. The talc/chalk brushes off.

It's lovely to find personal things about ancestors we never knew. I have quite a detailed pictures of many of my Scottish ancestors, including a photograph of my ggg-grandfather taken when he was 76 and still at work. Lots of the clubs they were affiliated to had reports and announcements in the local papers and we've visited some of the places they lived and worked. Sadly nothing but bdm for most of my Welsh and English lot. We even traced a lost child in Mr A's lot through a report in local papers when he disappeared from a census, to reappear later. He'd been lost just prior to the census and was found just after. The search was covered in the papers for days. I can spend all day going through the old papers 😁

After my mother died my cousin and I went to find our great grandparents headstone. We had very vague directions from when my mum had tried to find them. We found the area and an old head stone was lying face down, We pushed this up and it was the headstone we were looking for and the writing was quite clear!. It has now faded and I want to ask how to best to clean it. Other family members are buried close by with no markers and upon checking my grandmother shares her grave with someone unrelated. I was told by the cemetery office that I could place a small plaque over my grandmother which I intend to do. I have been back and planted tete a tete daffodils on their graves and that of an aunt who is nearby. I did belong to Ancestry and have researched quite a way back and have found relatives I knew nothing about as my paternal grandfather fell out with them all! It is a large family. As I am due to finish work soon I intend to take up this hobby again as it is so interesting.
All the suggestions so far have been very helpful.
Good luck Joseann - it is very worthwhile but can take over :-)

Should not be changed from burial site cremation sites who knows

The poster’s original question is - do older headstones get moved or removed altogether? Not just about cleaning of moss, lichens.

Removing headstones and leaving any plot unmarked, I believe, is against the law. Burial sites are sacred grounds. Nothing must be changed or erected over this ground.

Sometimes graves are moved - an excavation of meticulous handling.
USA Gundy

I don't mind any info about anything relating to this. I'm a beginner.
This particular graveyard is right on the coast so I'm guessing the salty air will also attack the stone. Oxidation?
Anyway, yes, it seems sacred ground must be left because you often see house building programmes that aren't allowed to cover the burial site.

Ancestry. com is well worth getting but before you pay for this…. Ask at your local library as many have paid to get it for their members to use. Also, as already mentioned, your local U3A is sure to have members who subscribe and be willing to let you use it.

You can pay for a month on Ancestry and there are always offers at certain times of year. Save copies of what you find if not printed off at least on your computer for when your subscription is up.

I’m using Find My Past at the moment as they seem to have more resources than Ancestry - or at least more that are relevant to me. Whatever you do, don’t buy a birth/death/marriage certificate from these sites - far cheaper to use the General Register Office. You can get the full reference number to quote from FreeBMD.

Sadly, some ancient burial grounds do get built on. The human remains usually have to be moved first and there are specialists companies which do this. A development site I bought for a house builder years ago included an old Quaker burial ground.

My friend loves graveyards! She has researched many. I know local graves had to be resited as subsidence caused some graves to slip down the side of the hill exposing bones - these graves were centuries old. She also gives talks to tourists and researches families for people.