If you come across this in Holy Trinity Churchyard it’s because Witney Town Council is undertaking the next stage of an on-going programme of memorial safety checks in our cemeteries and churchyards.

The program is a legal requirement to be carried out every five years to ensure they are safe places for you to visit.

This year is the turn of our closed churchyards at Holy Trinity and St Mary’s, Churches.

A specially trained stone mason will start by doing a visual inspection of the memorial, followed by a hand push (topple) test. This will involve pressure being applied to the memorial to check for movement. In most cases, there will be no movement and a record will be kept that the memorial has passed the test. If the memorial moves it will fail the test as the one in the photograph has done.

Our way of cordoning them off will not look like this as we continue with the testing, but you should expect to see tape, or fencing and a notice stating that the memorial has failed, so that we can identify failed memorials and find the best option to deal with each of them.

Memorials are normally the responsibility of the grave owner or their next of kin, but in the case of closed churchyards any decisions regarding memorials falls to the Town Council who maintains them.

Where any memorials fail the test there are two options:

We can lay the memorial flat so that it cannot pose any danger to anyone, or in some cases the memorial can be staked and banded as a temporary measure until fully repaired by an approved stone mason.

We understand that any work undertaken in cemeteries and churchyards is a very sensitive issue so we will be taking every care we can. If you have any questions about the programme please contact info@witney-tc.gov.uk, or give us a call on 01993 704379

If you feel strongly about our cemeteries and have ideas about how to honour our loved ones and keep their memorials tidy, consider joining the Friends of Witney Cemeteries. This group will meet from time to time and work alongside Witney Town Council to make suggestions for improvements and enhancements to our Cemeteries and to disseminate information about projects and other related news. We will work to preserve and enhance our cemeteries as places of remembrance, tranquillity and contemplation for all visitors and in particular for those who cherish the memory of a loved one buried there. Friends of the Cemeteries Contact is Cllr Melanie Jones mel.jones@witney-tc.gov.uk