The state of Merseyside Cemeteries

I have been busy looking through various Liverpool Cemeteries recently doing a bit of research. I was alarmed to see that all is not good within these grounds.

First of all, I rang the central number to try and trace a grave and was told that there is a ?10 fee!

At each of the cemeteries, there are boarded up lodges and nobody in sight if you want to find out any information as to where a section of particular grave might be. If you are lucky, you may find a worker dotted around but not always the case.

Finally, there are many many gravestones that have toppled over and have been left. I enquired about this and was told that it is a matter for families to sort this out and presumably pay for repairs etc. Now my own thoughts are that

1. A plot is expensive and surely the cost of one takes into account maintenance

2. If there are no relatives, does the stone lie where its fallen forever?

3. If it is down to the cost of labour, would it not be a good project for the "Community Payback" programme for offenders to repair?

Just wondered what your thoughts were.

The one thing that has always puzzled me is that I've spent lots of time in and around graveyards, simply because when I was in many a church choir, they were our 'playground' in between services.

You got to know which parish was poor and which had the money. For example, Childwall (all Saints) and Woolton (St Peter's) are probably the two parishes with the most money in the pot, but the situation at St Peter's is bizarre for two reasons.

A, there are lots of graves crammed together, broken or left to the mercy of the weather and the grass

B, it's a major tourist attraction for obvious reasons.

The problem with cemetries is that if a stone falls, the council go all 'health and safety' and just lay them down whereas a church would be more inclined to have their plot well tended to.

I have recently been part of a team looking at ex-services headstones.
One was that of a Royal Marine buried in St Helens cemetary.

He was killed in Sarawack in 1966 during the Malay Emergancy and buried localy in an unmarked grave by unknown people.
In 2002 his remains were brought back to the UK for a Christian burial in St Helens in the family grave.
The headstone lies flat on the ground now and is surrounded by Yellow H&S tape with a note asking the owners to clean it up.
What owners ? they are all in the same grave.

The yellow warning says it all.

Makes one wonder what these people think of every day.

RIP Marine Collins.

Phredd.

If anyone is looking foe a named person in toxteth Cemetery try this site.
http://www.toxtethparkcemetery.co.uk/

Hello
I was reading your post with interest, as my hubby and I were talking about how it would make sense for offenders to put in grave tidying time - it might also give them a little time to think about how soon they might end up in there if they don't mend their ways!!!

I mentioned to someone recently that old headstones that are no longer readable and have become separated from their graves could be recycled.

I saw this written in a book once quite a cheery little epitaph

"Look on me as you pass by
As you are now
So once was I
As I am now
Soon you will be
Therefore prepare to follow me"


I prefer 'Beneath this Sod lies another'

regards