Advice & Guidance
Gravestones
Setting out a sensible policy regarding memorial safety seems to be one of the most frequent concerns expressed by volunteers when it comes to dealing with churchyards.
This is understandable but it is important to realise that there is no simple rule that can be used to decide whether any particular memorial or headstone poses a risk as much depends on the size and nature of the memorial as well as its current fixing method and condition.
The following links therefore provide access to a range of current advice. Most of the advice is written with local authorities in mind but is equally relevant to other groups who look after churchyards or cemeteries.
- The latest guidance from English Heritage (2011) can be found in Caring for Historic Graveyard and Cemetery Monuments
- Managing the Safety of Burial Ground Memorials
- ICCM Management of Memorials (Code) April 2007
- LGO Special Report - Memorial Safety in Local Authority Cemeteries
- Advice on the care of War Memorials can be found on the War Memorials Trust website.
- Minerva Stone Conservation has produced a helpful Church Monument Handbook.
Cleaning
It is generally best not to attempt to clean gravestones, memorials and statues which reside out of doors, especially if they are colonised by lichens.
You should certainly avoid using proprietary cleaning
solutions for marble and granite, particularly where they contain sodium
hypochlorite (bleach) or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda).These chemicals are very harsh and
may
inflict considerable damage on the surface of the stone.
Where cleaning is felt to be necessary for an inscription to be made legible, this can be achieved by using a soft brush and plain water only. Spraying with pesticides or vigorous scrubbing will cause more damage to the stone than any lichen colonisation.
Further information on the care of carved stones can be found on the (ICON) website.
© SPAB 2011
