Families left devastated after 127 graves ‘destroyed’ at Studley parish cemetery - including newborn’s grave
DISTRESSED relatives are reeling after more than a hundred graves, including a baby’s, were ‘destroyed’.
Mourners say they’re still in shock after 127 graves in Studley parish cemetery were left with headstones tipped over, red tape looped around them, and wooden stakes driven into the burial plots.
The devastation is the result of ‘topple testing’ carried out last week, on the orders of Studley parish council.
Following an outpouring of grief and anger, the parish council has offered its “sincere and heartfelt apologies to all families affected”, claiming the gravestones were toppled for safety reasons.
Gemma Daly, who lives in Studley, described how she “sobbed uncontrollably,” after seeing the headstone marking her six-day old baby daughter Lucy's grave had been toppled.
She said: “I’m so heartbroken.
“This is my baby girl’s resting place and I feel like they have disturbed her peace.”
Gemma, a healthcare worker, added “Lucy’s gravestone is 16 years old but was well looked after and looks brand new, still.
“The slab it stood on is still very much flat and straight.
“They said this inspection would be carried out with the utmost respect and sensitivity.
“To me, this is not the case as it has caused me and my other daughters so much hurt and upset.
“The pure disrespect they’ve shown our loved ones is sickening and I feel someone needs to be made accountable.”
Janet Chaplin, 87, who lives in Studley, visits the cemetery daily as her late husband John, her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and close childhood friends are all laid to rest there.
She said: “The cemetery is worse than if vandals had been in it.
“It’s more dangerous than it was before.
“It’s really upset me.
“I’ve been going there for 70 years, and it’s never been in this state.
“I’m absolutely disgusted.”
Janet, who was born in Studley and worked in the former needle factory on Birmingham Road for more than 30 years, added: “My mother’s and father’s stone was put there 40 years ago and just recently, I noticed it was leaning so I paid for it to be levelled and put right.
“It’s now been laid down on the ground - it’s just destruction.”
Studley villager Kay Westmore’s father is also buried in the cemetery and although his grave was left untouched, she is distressed by the pain caused to friends and neighbours.
She said: “It’s always been nice and peaceful down there, but now it's not.
“It’s unbelievable.
“The village needs to come together, and we need to get this sorted and the [parish] council needs to give us answers.”
She added: “It hasn't been dealt with properly
“You don't expect to go down there and see all that destruction and mess everywhere.
“They put up a notice to say we're doing an inspection in September, but this wasn't just an inspection, they've literally gone for it.
“Some people are probably still unaware, and it’s only when they go to see their loved ones, they'll find it's been destroyed.”
Jane Neville, who also lives in Studley, described the scene as one of “devastation”.
She said: “I was shocked when I first saw it - all those graves just tipped over.
“It was horrific to see - even the concrete plinths they’re set in have been tipped over - it doesn't make any sense.
“We can't make head nor tail of why it's been done.
“How can an 18-inch headstone for a baby be unsafe?
“Where's the compassion?”
Brian Dixon, former chairman of Studley Parish Council cemetery committee, has trained with the London-based Institute of Cemetery & Crematorium Management.
He oversaw ‘topple testing’ in the cemetery for many years and typically only expected to find two stones unstable in a year.
Brian described how Mrs Chaplin came to his house “in tears and shaking” and he went back with her to the parish cemetery where he found “an absolute disaster”.
He said: “All the way through, gravestones have been pushed over and pulled out.
“I’ve done all the training and the law of gravestones is that if you do a topple test check and they’re dangerously tipping, you put a wooden fencing stake to them, strap or band them, put a notice on the gravestone warning of the condition, then contact the family who have three months to address the situation.
“But these people came in and tipped over almost 130 headstones.
“An even more serious issue is they got a stake and hammered it into the middle of some graves, where there may be ashes and human remains.
“It's caused massive upset.”
Brian, who helped arrange the plot and headstone for Gemma’s baby Lucy, added: “I was there the day they walked into the cemetery with that little baby in a white box.
“The gravestone was only 18-inches high and they’ve knocked the front of it, and it's damaged.
“When I saw that, I cried because that poor young mother laid her baby to rest and suffered, and she still comes with flowers.
“They say it’s about safety but that tiny baby’s grave wasn’t dangerous.”
“They’ve broken the front of a load of headstones - it’s devastation.”
Brian pointed out the potential financial cost of what’s happened.
“Some of the recent stones that have gone in, perhaps less than five years ago, still have a guarantee and were erected by craftsmen,” he explained.
“But the guarantees may not now stand, because the stones have been interfered with.
“People may have paid thousands of pounds for the stone but once it's been tipped over, there's no guarantee.”
He summed up: “It's more than cruel, it’s wicked.”
“This is a scandal in our cemetery, and lovely people are being hurt.”
Studley Parish Council says it will instruct a qualified stonemason to return to the cemetery and temporarily reinstate memorials that were laid down “wherever this can be done safely”.
The Council has also called a meeting at Studley Village Hall on Friday [26th September] at 6.30pm for all families affected.
Studley Parish Council offered its “sincere and heartfelt apologies to all families affected by the recent topple testing at Studley Cemetery” in a statement issued on Monday [22nd September].
It said: “We recognise that this has caused upset and distress, and we are truly sorry.
“Earlier this month, an independent qualified stonemason was employed by the Council to carry out a topple test inspection of memorials in the cemetery.
“Some of the headstones were identified as a potential safety risk, and as a result, they were carefully laid flat to prevent accidents.
“We now realise that the inspection notices issued ahead of the works did not contain enough detail about what happens when a memorial fails a topple test.
“We also share in the shock of so many memorials being affected, which far exceeded the number previously envisaged.
“Previous checks had only ever been carried out by councillors; this was the first time a professionally registered testing stonemason had been appointed to conduct the work, in line with improved safety standards and training.”
It added: “We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused to families and friends of those interred.
“We are deeply sorry for the distress this has caused and remain committed to working sensitively and respectfully with all families as we move forward.”
Once it has the stonemason’s full inspection report, the council says it will contact owners or families of affected memorials.
In the meantime, anyone wanting to discuss a memorial should contact the Parish Council clerks on 01527 853204 or by email at clerk@studleyparishcouncil.gov.uk.
This is the latest in a string of burial-related controversies surrounding Studley Parish Council during the past three years.
In June 2022, the Herald revealed how a catalogue of errors by the council left people buried in the wrong graves, overlapping plots and botched paperwork.