C O N T E X T 1 0 5 : J U LY 2 0 0 8 17 marble sarcophagus in Lee churchyard, in the London Borough of Lewisham, was protected by a hefty beachhut-like winter shelter.4 Stones themselves decay and their messages are lost. Inscriptions, once legible, become lost within our own period of acquaintance. Acid rain has eroded many of the shallower reliefs to a state of illegibility. Portland stone weathers back; sandstones delaminate; marbles sugar. The pace will depend on the stone, its location and atmospheric conditions. In some places, the decay is coming at once, rather than being a gradually staggered affair, as generations of memorials enter a critical condition (this is happening, for instance, with pennant stones in the Bristol area). With recording now quite common, comparisons can readily be made with earlier photographs. To appreciate the longer-term picture of decline, one has only to compare the monuments photographed in Herbert Batsford’s English Mural Monuments and Tombstones (1916) with their present unhappy condition. Churchyards are places to make discoveries in: a mason’s name, a reference to world events, a verse of particular elegance, a tomb design by an architect of note. Early modern memorials still await recognition, and works of synthesis on local, regional, and national levels still need to be undertaken. Death may spare none, but oblivion singles out the humble for early dissolution and extinction. Outdoor memorials are the nearest we get to vernacular commemoration. Given how quiet are some voices from the past, they deserve our closer attention. Churchyards are the very best places to see stone. It weathers, decays and sometimes expires. Monumental decay is a pretty obvious emblem of transitoriness, and the inherent vanity of memorial-making makes the inevitability of such decay all the more poignant. Economic developments determined the availability of stones. As the canal network developed in the 18th century, so the distribution of millstone grits became more widespread. Technology too facilitated the takeup of different stones. Steam power permitted the widespread hewing and polishing of granites from the 1830s. Traditionally, the south side of the churchyard was favoured for burials. Identifying the groups of monuments which together create the ambience is important in setting parameters for closer control and maintenance for some areas. Other areas will be able to tolerate more change and perhaps less gentle maintenance. As the most important guardian of churchyards, the Church of England has a massive conservation responsibility. It offers guidance through The Churchyard Handbook as well as on a diocesan level. The third edition (1988), by Peter Burman and Henry Stapleton, is especially recommended. It is both practical and lyrical in its guidance, and wise in its advice about combining new memorials with old ones. English Heritage is producing technical guidance on the care of graveyard monuments this autumn, while Historic Scotland has been very active on this front in recent years. Three fatalities have occurred from falling memorials since 2000. The inconsistent campaigns of levelling and securing, which have been carried out across the country since then, have sometimes had a serious effect on the amenity of places of burial. The Health and Safety Executive urges a proportionate response to the issue, since on occasion their concerns have been taken over-literally, leading to regrettable levelling. A recent House of Commons debate on graveyard safety5 stressed the need for common sense and thoughtfulness in this area. The ground within a churchyard is intensely charged: the dead of tens of generations lie just below. When we see a tombstone we know that the subject is just beneath. In death are the living most present. Look at any molehill and see the fragments of ancient parishioners. There is an iceberg quality about graveyards in that so much goes on below the surface. Archaeologists are as loath to disturb human remains as anyone. Investigation takes place only when disturbance is unavoidable, and the presence Slate headstones in All Saints, Holbeton, Devon. Slate is the most legible of all sepulchral materials; the 18th century skulls as well as the inscriptions remain perfectly clear. Coade stone monument to Mrs Martha Chivers (died 1807),West Tarring, West Sussex.The clone of a damaged monument of 1784 inWoodford, this composite material made enduring outdoor sculpture possible. It is clearly very special and requires flagging through designation.
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