Final appeal for the owners of unsafe headstones in St Cyr’s churchyard

Stroud District Council is issuing a final appeal to families with relatives buried in St Cyr’s churchyard in Stonehouse: please check whether your memorials have been identified as unsafe before they are laid flat.

When the council safety tested the memorials in St Cyr’s churchyard in January, 71 failed and an appeal was made for their owners to come forward. 

Responsibility for the maintenance of memorials lies with their owner - usually the closest family member of the deceased.

Seven of the memorials have since been made safe by their owners and the council will be laying the remaining unsafe structures flat in the coming weeks.

“Councils have a duty to ensure that cemeteries and graveyards for which they are responsible are safe,” said Cllr Chloe Turner, Chair of SDC Environment Committee.

“Memorials are often very heavy, and when they become unstable could cause accidents.

“St Cyr’s churchyard is part of a popular walking route for access to the restored section of the Stroudwater Canal near Ocean Jubilee Bridge and we have a responsibility to ensure it is safe for everyone who visits.

“I’d like to thank those relatives who have come forward to make their memorials safe and ask anyone else who knows they have relatives buried in St Cyr’s churchyard to contact us before those that are unsafe are laid flat.”

Stroud District Council is responsible for approximately 2,000 memorial stones in eight cemeteries: Brimscombe Cemetery; St Cyr’s, Stonehouse; St Mary’s, Rodborough; Christchurch, Chalford; St Mary Magdalene, Berkeley; Holy Trinity, Brimscombe; St Michael and All Angels, Bussage and Woodchester Cemetery. 

Safety testing at St Mary’s Church, Rodborough and Brimscombe Cemetery will be carried out later this year, with the remaining cemeteries tested as part of a five-year rolling plan.

If a memorial belonging to your family has been identified as unsafe, please contact 01453 766321 or email community.services@stroud.gov.uk

Between 1979 and 2009 eight people in the UK were killed when a memorial fell on them, according to Ministry of Justice figures: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d7910e5274a676d532467/safety-burial-grounds.pdf 

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