Story by Lisa Swift
The Messenger was shocked to discover the recent damage to monuments in Burngreave Cemetery wasn’t due to vandals, but Sheffield City Council’s Bereavement Services.
Burngreave Cemetery is the largest green space in our area and for 150 years it has been a sacred place for remembering the dead of many faiths. It is with sadness and some anger that residents have watched the decay of the cemetery and its buildings. The effects of nature and the neglect of our underfunded City Council have resulted in dangerously uneven ground, collapsing graves and unsafe monuments.
However the Messenger was surprised to learn that deliberate dismantling of monuments was taking place, not by young people, as many are quick to assume, but by Bereavement Services themselves.
A resident of Burngreave for over 50 years, who has several family graves in Burngreave Cemetery, told the Messenger how her family grave had been desecrated when the headstone was removed and leant against the side of the grave so it couldn’t be read.
“I was so upset, and angry.We have another family grave in Shiregreen and when this was loose we cemented it ourselves. I know that if my Grandparent’s headstone had been loose we would have done the same, we visit at least twice a year and my cousin visits every month. I know it wasn’t loose, but when I read in The Sun that a council in Wales had pushed over 370 headstones I knew what had happened.”
The resident contacted Bereavement Services to find out why she hadn’t been told the stone was loose. They told her they only have the address of her late grandmother, and so couldn’t inform her of what was happening. But the Messenger has discovered that the damage is being done in such a disorganised way that letters could not have been sent in advance.
Another Burngreave resident, who is often in the cemetery walking her dog, told us she had seen Council workers wobbling headstones and pushing them over.
“The workers themselves were very considerate in some ways.When testing one of the really old stones the face, with all the writing on, came clean off. They carefully picked it up and brought it into the Chapel for the Friends of the Cemetery to look after and preserve.”
The resident went on to complain that it is the general policy of randomly pushing and wobbling stones that is the problem.
“I know they have specialist equipment to test stones and I have seen them with a specialist crane that can lift the headstones carefully and lay them down. But these workers have been told to test stones by hand and inevitably they are being damaged. These stones are full of the history of the people that lived here in Burngreave and it is being lost because the Council are doing things on the cheap.”
The Messenger approached Bereavement Services with these complaints and spoke to John Batley who told us:
“We have an obligation to make the cemetery safe, and in the last year the Health and Safety Commission have raised their concerns with Burial Authorities across the country after several deaths and injuries due to unsafe memorials.We are doing tests in Burngreave Cemetery to identify the most dangerous headstones which we have to lay down immediately.This is done by a hand test, if this is passed then by an electronic device which tests for movement. If there is any movement they are laid down face up on the grave by specialist equipment.”
Mr Batley denied that stones were being pushed over randomly:
“We have staff working systematically on the most dangerous stones until Christmas, but this is part of a five year programme, which will eventually re-erect headstones. We understand that moving monuments can be distressing, for relatives and the general public, if anyone has any concerns they can contact Bereavement Services on 239 6068 or approach our staff on site.”
Mr Batley urged our resident to contact him to discuss the matter, and offered to have the stone laid face up on the grave, as it should have been. However, Bereavement Services cannot pay for modern memorials to be mended.