Hundreds of gravestones at Teddington Cemetery have been deemed unsafe, leaving relatives furious.
The gravestones marked unsafe by Richmond Council have been bound with cable ties and warning signs on wooden posts planted into the ground.
Every five years cemeteries are required by law to test memorials to ensure their safety following the death of a young boy who was crushed by a falling gravestone when playing with friends in North Yorkshire in 2000.
Out of the 750 memorials tested at Teddington cemetery, 160 were marked unsafe.
Affected relative Vanessa Jux, whose father and sister are buried in the affected graves, said: “It’s really done me in, I was so angry.
“I cut the sign off and took it down, so my Mum didn’t have to see it.
“The wooden pole is still there because you can’t do anything about it, it’s been properly put in behind the gravestone head which is bad in itself.”
Just ten years ago, Jux’s father’s and sister’s graves were driven over by a tractor in the rain and had muddy tire tracks marked over them.
Jux’s mother, a working 77-year-old who lives down the road from the cemetery, visits the graves frequently as part of her weekly routine and has done so for the past 37 years.
Jux said: “Some people don’t visit graves all the time, but my Mum does because it’s her husband and her daughter and they’re just up the road from her.
“She misses them, it’s enough going up there with her own thoughts let alone to see that, there was quite a bit of mess and when she approached my dad’s and my sister’s grave, she freaked out a bit.”
Jux explained her mother did not receive a warning letter from the council which added to the shock and distress.
A Richmond Council representative explained how sorry the council were over the phone to Jux’s mother and said everyone should have received a letter.
They said: “The Council has a legal requirement to carry out testing to ensure all memorials are safe.
“Legally, testing must be carried out by trained professional contractors, every five years.
“The contractors temporarily make safe any memorials that fail the test but are not of immediate risk to the public and any that pose an immediate risk are laid down.”
Julie Dunk is the CEO of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), an organisation aiming to raise standards for bereaved people.
Dunk said that, since cemeteries are public spaces, it is up to the local authority to ensure they are safe for people to visit, particularly as there have been unfortunate accidents and deaths in cemeteries.
Although the memorials themselves rest in the grounds managed by local authorities, Dunk explained that the stones themselves are property of the person who owns the grave or their living relative.
This means it is up to the owner or relative to ensure the gravestone is safe.
Memorials can crack and become unsafe over time if the stone is erected poorly
This is because the stone is fixed onto a base and the joints between the stone and base cause problems as they wear away.
Dunk said: “If the joint has worn away over time you can’t see that.
“Although they look perfectly safe, if somebody were to lean on it then it could fall over and cause a lot of damage.
“For the authority, it’s a case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
Dunk explained that there was a need to ensure people could see the signs to prevent injury, but the council should also try to prevent the person’s name being blocked.
Dunk said: “It’s a horrible thing to have to see which is why the authorities try to write to the person who owns the grave rights.”
“A lot of it is about communication beforehand, so we would advise before any work takes place, notices are put into the cemetery, and it’s perhaps advertised in the local media so people can visit.
“We always say if someone wants to have the memorial tested while they’re present, so they can see what happens for themselves, then they should be allowed.
Dunk said losing a loved one is something which is going to affect everyone at some point and expressed how at ICCM they want to do their best for people to help them through a really awful time in their lives.
When discussing the councils signposting actions at Teddington cemetery, Jux said: “They’re our loved ones and there needs to be a bit more respect.
“My mum said some of the ornaments had been moved or fallen because they’d been going around.”
Teddington Cemetery is a grade II listed municipal cemetery, opening in 1879 located on Shacklegate Lane.
Resting amongst many loved ones in the cemetery is the founder of The Times, John Walter (1738 – 1812), former head of The Beatles’ company Apple Corps, Neil Aspinall (1941 – 2008), and Only Fools and Horses actor Kenneth MacDonald (1950 – 2001) who played Mike Fisher.
Featured image credit: Vanessa Jux
