Rent a grave !

[Penninah]

Go Jed, you have it in a nutshell!!!
what is wrong with these people, they have it all wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

[JK]

Actually I think this topic has been rumbling around Parliament and London local authorities for some time. I seem to recal a couple of years ago one of the big London Cemetaries putting coloured tags on stones in one area that they wanted to reuse and If no relly's came forward they were going to be re-used, can't remember which one it was. I remember it because we have London buriels and went and checked our paper work to see if any of ours would be affected. Don't know if any were reused at that time.
These links from 2000 show the concerns stressed back then;

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmselect/cmenvtra/91/91m48.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,363393,00.html

[alllegs]

Thank you JK,

Very interesting links.

Legs
xxxx

[CatOne]

If no family relatives come forward, why cant they be donated to local FHS societies, or other interested organisations, rather than being defaced and the inscriptions gone forever.

Who knows how many of us will find relatives in London cemeteries in the future? Just because no one comes forward now, doesn't meant to say no one would in the future. It would be better for a third party to have them, photograph them and record the information, than for them to be just destroyed in the way the councils seem to be allowing. At least the information on them would still be available for future generations, and its showing respect and care for those who are no longer here.

Would it really be possible to save them? or would the council not allow it? They just see £ signs, they dont see things as we do  

[alllegs]

I couldn't agree more CatOne,

I thought bodies were meant to be left to rest in peace not to have their stones defaced and have complete strangers buried on top.... I'm so angry.....

Legs
xxxx

[JK]

I totally agree, but feel that as you said local authorities will value £££ more. Not only that but  the nature conservation factor isn't being considered here. Having spent time searching in Islington cemetery I know how beautiful and serene these places are. With green spaces in London being so rare cemeteries are home to so many animals and plants. We found some of our graves but other were in designated 'wild areas', many bramble scratches later we decided we were roughly in the right area and just enjoyed the peace, the area was all childrens graves and the tiny fallen stones in amongst all the undergrowth were really touching. The idea that local authorities might be allowed to come along and disturb these final resting places is truly awful, but then maybe those of us interested in History may just be biased.

[Crisrbow]

I think that's awful. Surely people should be left to rest in peace? None of my rellies seem to be there but I'd hate to think they were disturbed

crisrbow

[Penninah]

I don't think that we are biased, well maybe a little but with our love of genealogy and interest in history in general we have become much more in touch with our past and in doing so more respectful to the long dead we never knew (though perhaps through our researches have come too feel that in a way we do.) We are the ones in the right, if only other's weren't so narrow minded and could see past their own lifetimes they wouldn't think twice about upsetting the final resting places of our ancestors. It is truely wrong to go messing with that, its sacred. there comes a point when money should not come into the equation, this is one of them! There must be someway of stopping this!! It really is wrong.

[Nutty1966]

I agree this should be stopped, those graves are sacred to the people that are buried there, no one should disturb them, unless it is another family member that has passed also.

Sympathy to those with families involved. 

Jane