RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: CarolineWebb on Saturday 18 October 25 12:04 BST (UK)
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Hi, we have found a potential ancestor's gravestone but it's pretty much illegible and covered in lichen. Would it be ok if we tried to clean some of it off with plain water and a cloth/soft brush?
We've asked the church if they have transcripts of the stones which they don't and have tried to email the council for permission but heard nothing back.
Thoughts please :-)
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I've been in this situation myself. Have you tried shining a light from the side and seeing if the shadows make the inscription more legible? That has worked partly for me.
I've always been reluctant to physically remove lichen for fear of doing irreversible damage. My conscience won't let me do it. But I have carefully traced around inscriptions gently to try to identify letters. Laborious but it can yield results.
Good luck.
Martin
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Think you would need to be careful trying to clean it I was told by someone who transcribes old stones was to dust it with talcum powder worth a try
Rosie
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Both suggestions from Martin and Rosie have worked for me in the past.
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Both suggestions from Martin and Rosie have worked for me in the past.
Good to know ;)
Rosie
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I’d be very reluctant to attempt to remove any lichen, particularly on a grave marker which is made of sedimentary rock. You could well damage the underlying stone and open it up to increased erosion by the action of rain and frost/ice.
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I think you need expert skills, and then only if you have any right to touch it.
Zaph
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Hi,
Can you tell us where it is and who it is for?
The local church may not have a transcription, but many local societies have done the work for us.
There are also historic transcriptions if you are lucky.
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A Deed of Grant is issued for burial and the erection of a headstone.
This Deed if often for a specific period and can be renewed.
If during the period of the Deed the named person on the Deed passes the ownership is transferred to the Executor.
If at a later date a family member wants too they can obtain a Deed of Grant which typically can be for 25 years during which time they have full rights over the grave and headstone. The owner could then clean the headstone as they wished in line with the details specified in the Deed.
At least this is what was explained to us when we set about looking at replacing a damaged headstone in Manchester’s Southern Cemetery.
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some years ago I helped with transcribing some gravestones; this was in Wales. I believe permission had been obtained from the relevant authorities.
To clean it the gravestone was sprayed with shaving foam, the surpuls scraped off with a squeegee type blade. When the stone had been transcribed the shaving foam was then washed off with clean water.
My mind boggles since I read a tip that shaving foam can be used to clean the grease off an oven door!!
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I'll emphasize what I said earlier that if you start cleaning somebody else's headstone, with mysterious chemicals suggested from a dubious person on a forum, you are likely to get into trouble and at the very least cause irreparable damage to the headstone.
Zaph
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions - shining lights and using talc seem like sensible options without causing any damage.
We have since found out that a local school carried out a survey of the gravestones some 40 years ago and that there is a copy of the transcripts in the local library, contrary to me being told by the church archivist that there wasn't a copy!
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Perhaps you would like to share with us which churchyard this is so that we know where transcripts are available. :)
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It's Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon and the transcripts are apparently in the library at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
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Not just in the library apparently!
https://holytrinitysuagraves.co.uk/
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FreeReg a possibility??
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Thank you Caroline and David ;D
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I think you need expert skills, and then only if you have any right to touch it.
Might it be possible to try the brass-rubbing method to see whether letters are more legible that way ?
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A Deed of Grant is issued for burial and the erection of a headstone.
This Deed if often for a specific period and can be renewed.
If during the period of the Deed the named person on the Deed passes the ownership is transferred to the Executor.
If at a later date a family member wants too they can obtain a Deed of Grant which typically can be for 25 years during which time they have full rights over the grave and headstone. The owner could then clean the headstone as they wished in line with the details specified in the Deed.
At least this is what was explained to us when we set about looking at replacing a damaged headstone in Manchester’s Southern Cemetery.
My Dad died 45 years before my Mother, we were beginning to think we would overrun the 50 year initial grant for his burial plot (it was a double plot to allow for Mum too). When she died, being a second burial we were entitled to another 50 year Deed, which I transferred to my daughter's name, so someone has ownership of that plot and headstone for a total of 100 years from the first date of death. I would not want someone coming along and randomly trying to clean the stone.
Pheno