Cleaning up a gravestone

[BillyF]

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!!

[Zaphod99]

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

[CarolineWebb]

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!

[rosie99]

Perhaps you would like to share with us which churchyard this is so that we know where transcripts are available.

[CarolineWebb]

It's Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon and the transcripts are apparently in the library at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

[David Nicoll]

Not just in the library apparently!

https://holytrinitysuagraves.co.uk/

[AllanUK]

FreeReg a possibility??

[rosie99]

Thank you Caroline and David 

[Andrew Tarr]

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 ?