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Archiver > NORFOLK > 2002-01 > 1010544316


From: "Eve Findlay" <>
Subject: Re: Churchyard gravestones
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 10:06:51 -0800


Hi Bert

Last year I got to vist a few church yards in Norfolk and Suffolk and felt
so
good when I found quite a few graves with my family names on, as you say
most are so eroded that they can't be read. I found a row of HEMBLEN
graves.
in St Mary's Bungay, a few REEVE in St Peters & Paul Swaffham and a whole
lot of REEVE graves in St Nicholas in Ashill, I also found an ADCOCK
in Swaffham. Now I'm still trying to work out who's who and where they come
in my tree.

Regards
Eve
-----Original Message-----
From: Bert Arter <>
To: <>
Date: Monday, 7 January 2002 10:44
Subject: Re: Churchyard gravestones


>Hello All,
>
>There should be NO attachment with this message
>
>Following on the recent thread, I have visited most graveyards in the
>western half of Norfolk and comment as follows. There are over 700 parish
>churches in Norfolk.
>
>Generally only one in ten stones (10%) or less survive hence ones chances
of
>finding graves of ancestors is poor. It is rare to find a stone existing
>from the 1700`s and, as Stan Langley says, none exist from the 1600`s.
>
>Many of these from the 1700`s and 1800`s are totally unreadable due to
>deterioration of the stone itself or attack by lichens, mosses and Ivy.
>Others have fallen over, sunk into the ground, as the coffins below have
>collapsed, or have been vandalised. Unthinking searchers unintentionally
>attack stones with scrapers to reveal writing only to destroy the tablet
>itself.
>
>In some instances church staff clear the stones away, usually to the
>perimenter wall, to allow the motor driven grass cutters freedom. In other
>cases areas of graveyards are left uncut for wildlife to inhabit and stones
>are not reachable unless one wishes to wade through 1.2 metre high stinging
>nettles or brambles.
>
>Having said all that it is still quite a thrill when the stone you are
>looking for appears.
>
>Regards, Bert Arter, Stibbard, Norfolk, England.
>Researching ARTER, BIRD, BONE, BUNN, CRASKE, CUSHING, GAGE, LANGLEY and
many
>others.
>
>______________________________

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