- Jigsaw Care Services Crowned Winners of Richmond’s Den
- Livestock at Heatham House
- New Interactive Olympics website launched
- Mayor issues Great River Race challenge
- Richmond Council to monitor BAA Heathrow trials
- Youngsters get new youth zone
- A knife stabs more than one heart
- New Interactive Olympics website launched!
- Special gardens at Twickenham Riverside opened by Royal approval
- Barnes restaurant owner fined for dumping waste
- Support on offer following Dog Control Order
- Top apprentices inspire local firms to say “You’re hired!”
- Outdoor gym boost for Richmond upon Thames
- Richmond upon Thames most active in the country
- Bike Fest is wheelie good
- Criminal minds host author evening
- ‘Have your say’ as Council extends prepaid cards consultation
- Outstanding care workers to receive recognition
- Scores of unsafe gravestones repaired
- Richmond upon Thames celebrates the Olympics with a showcase of cultural events.
- Lowest paid staff receive pay boost
- Local families to benefit from Council housing policy
- Richmond Council leave Regal House
- Consultation on Twickenham town centre works to be launched
- Happy soul day at Ham
- Towpath upgraded to benefit residents
- Live it up this summer
- Young people make it to the silver screen
- Local Artists open their doors
- Small art makes big impression
- Bike Fest comes to Borough
- Richmond upon Thames students in Olympic Torch Fever
- Roll up for The Mayor’s Jubilee Quiz Night
- Sky Ride Local starts in Richmond upon Thames
- Redwood and Oakland are the cats whiskers!
- Civic Pride rules in Richmond upon Thames
- Street Champions inspire Low Carbon Zone success
- Richmond Council underpins support to town centres
- Council Tax benefit reform poses challenge for Council
- Twickenham Riverside to be opened by Royal approval
- Best practice for Tenants’ Housing Champion
- Make a noise in your local library
- Volunteering Richmond launches locally
- Hundreds of Diamond Jubilee street parties in Richmond upon Thames
- Entrepreneurs set for The Richmond’s Den semi-final
Release Date: 22/06/2012
Scores of unsafe gravestones repaired
More than 100 dilapidated memorials in cemeteries across the borough have been restored to their former glory, thanks to Richmond Council.
Detailed masonry work was carried out to honour the memory of local people’s ancestors who are buried in the area. Expert craftsmen, contracted by the Council, have reinstated 121 graves in four cemeteries where stones and crosses had deteriorated over time, making them unsafe and unsightly.
The Council have fixed 46 crosses back into their original position at East Sheen Cemetery and 34 memorials at Twickenham. A further 23 were repaired at Teddington Cemetery and 18 at the Old Mortlake Burial Ground. The team have worked on crosses and stones close to the main walkways. Work involved re-cutting stones and fixing them to ensure they are safe and stable. The Council have also pledged to restore around 50 gravestones at Hampton Cemetery in the next phase of restoration work.
Cllr Virginia Morris, Richmond Council’s Strategic Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning, Parks and Highways, said: “This is really important and worthwhile work that is making a real difference.
“Our cemeteries are places of remembrance and dignity for families and although maintenance of gravestones is not the Council’s direct responsibility, we’re nevertheless, committed to helping ensure they’re well maintained and attractive for visitors and as a mark of respect to our forbearers.
“The stones have deteriorated over many years and it’s always sad to see gravestones in a bad way, so it’s really good to see so many being restored. This is an excellent start and we now plan to repair around 50 more memorials at Hampton Cemetery and will then look at further restoration work across the borough’s cemeteries.”
Cemetery staff attempted to contact relatives of people buried in the graves where memorials needed maintenance, as it is their responsibility to look after the plots. In most cases, due to the age of the graves, this was not possible. A number of stones and crosses which could no longer stand upright were previously laid down and the work has focused on securing them into an upright position again.
View the full press release