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From: B Hough <>
Subject: [CHS] Macclesfield Express Story: Graves could be moved at Prestbury
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:18:49 +0100 (BST)



Graves could be moved at Prestbury
ST PETER'S Church in Prestbury isn't ruling out the possibility that graves may have to be moved as part of the proposed extension to the chapel. The 800-year-old church could be extended as part of renovation plans - thanks to a cash windfall from the sale of Ford House ~ and burial plots in the grounds could be moved.
It is unknown if the graves, some of which date back to the 1800s, will have to be dug up and relocated if building work begins at St Peter's.
Jim Leonard, chairman of St Peter's Parochial Church Council (PCC), said: "It's too early to say at this stage because we don't know what the extension would be or where its location is. So we just consulting people to find out what may be best.
"It may turn out that some graves could be affected. It may not be a problem with the older ones, especially if their families have moved out of the area.

"If some do have to be moved then it's a question of talking to the families involved and approaching the issue as sensitively as possible.

He added: "We're getting as many people's views and working with all the bodies involved in the process."

However, some of the village's residents are angered by the thought graves could be disrupted.

Linda Burrowes, of Legh Street, Prestbury; has one of her friends buried in St Peter's graveyard.
She said: "It's a beautiful old church, so peaceful and lovely. It would be awful if any graves had to be moved, I don't care if they are hundreds of years old or not, it's just awful."

She added: "I can't imagine what the church would look like if they added to it, or the logistics of the whole thing."


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