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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2001-04 > 0986232190


From: "Estelle Wolfers" <>
Subject: Graveyard/cemetery re-use
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 18:23:10 +0100


I have no problem with exhumation and/or reburial; my concern is that the
information recorded on gravestones may be lost.

Incidentally, as several people have mentioned, the need to re-use graveyard
space is a problem in France. I visited the cemetery where my
great-grandparents are buried (Argentan in Normandy) and the cemetery
office displayed a poster explaining that they do their best to contact
relatives of someone whose gravesite is being considered for re-use. One
can register an interest in a particular grave and pay a fairly moderate sum
to have tenancy, as it were, extended. Apparently graves are usually
considered for redevelopment, on a grave-by-grave basis, if the stone is
disintegrating and the grave unvisited. As the cemetery office was closed,
and I didn't expect to be able to return in the near future, I made a quick
trip to the nearest florist and placed a conspicuous pot of roses! The
approach shown at this cemetery seems to be humane and sensible, though I
can't imagine a UK cemetery accepting this piecemeal approach to
reorganisation.

Estelle Wolfers, Ipswich



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