Sunken headstone

kerri_gt

I was just wondering who is responsible for righting a sunken / lopsided headstone and also a sunken grave plot? Do I need to contract the cemetery to have the earth levelled and the stone righted, or does a stonemason need to reset the stone? If it's a stonemason who resets the stone, should I still contact the cemetery about the sunken earth?

Primrose

This happened to my grandparents grave some years ago. I contacted a local stonemason and they did everything from re levelling the ground, resetting the stone and cleaning up the headstone and the kerbing around the perimeter. They did a wonderful job and it looked brand new. It wasn't cheap though. I had it done because my elderly dad who had retired miles away was coming to stay for a few days and had expressed an advance wish to visit his parents grave not far away one last time. I' m so glad I paid it an advance visit to check it out because I was horrified at how derelict it had become over the years and I knew how upset he would have been to see it in that state. So part of the stonemason's cost may have been overtime rates to get the job done quickly. I didn't have to contact the cemetery. When you buy a grave you actually pay for the plot of land it occupies. I suggest you contact a couple of stonemasons and get a quote.. Funeral directors probably have a list of local ones.

MatyMoo

Wr have a similar problem with our family plot, caused by rabbits burrowing

Our stonemason did for us when we had to change the stone after my Mum died.

kerri_gt

Thanks for your replies, there are quite a few wonkey stones around the same area, the soil round here is very heavy clay so I guess with all the 'disturbance' from plots being dug at times the clay slips. The stone could also do with the gold lettering being redone so will probably look to get it all completed at the same time.

System

I don't know about the headstone, but when the earth had sunk a little at my children's grave, I just popped into the cemetery office (on site) and they couldn't have been more helpful.
The plot was levelled and reseeded that day and it didn't cost us anything.
HTH
Linda x

bluenoseam

Possibly a different scenario, but we had a similar situation with my Dad's headstone a couple of years back. He's buried in a council cemetary, but ultimately it was our responsibility to rectify the situation, which I can to an extent understand. They did however effect a temporary fix in the mean time (a post with what appeared to be that hideous stuff they use to bind boxes around the stone) whilst they dealt with it in a thoroughly offensive & idiotic manner! (address label stuck on the headstone & a letter dated on the anniversary of his death sent - council given arguably the most vicious & scathing verbal smackdown I've ever heard my Mum give!) Essentially the repair was simple enough & the cost while not insignificant was in my own personal opinion worth every penny - around £500 at the time for a reset.