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hello and welcome to grumpy towers come in and take your coat off.

while you do i,ll just ring for some tea.

An overcrowded churchyard is set to stack coffins four deep in an attempt to save space.

Banwell Parish Council in Somerset is considering a system where burial caskets are laid on top of each other underground - bringing the coffins right to the surface of the churchyard.

the graveyard at St Andrew's Church has just 70 plots left and is likely to be full within 15 years.

Tony Jay, Banwell Parish Council clerk, said: "Councillors are now looking at the future as to how we can deal with this.

"The benefit of this scheme would be that we could increase the number of graves in the current burial ground which would extend the life of the cemetery The council has already agreed to look at the possibility of buying land on the edge of the village to provide more burial plots, which could prove costly

A system offered by GreenAcre Solutions - the only company in the UK offering a modular stacking system - is being considered as an alternative.

Currently the council only offers two-deep plots, but this could be extended if necessary If the parish council were to adopt the concept it could extend the cemetery life by around 40 years

The units would only be available for family members and not allowed as general burial space.

Mr Jay added: "I wish to emphasise that if this system were to be introduced then it would not have any effect on any previously purchased grave plots, where burials would still take place in the traditional way.

"The parish councillors appreciate that this is an emotive subject."

Grave decision: Church cemetery to start stacking coffins FOUR DEEP to combat overcrowding - Mirror Online

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AAG

so seriously without the cemetery jokes because i think i,ve done them somewhere before what do you do when the graveyard is full and theres nowhere to put the dead ?

do we buy more land for cemeteries as reported the extra land would be expensive as land is at a premium these days and when you think about it its dead land ( no pun intended) because if you use it as a graveyard it has to stay a graveyard.

the alternative is to stack coffins 4 deep but there should be a minimum 4ft between the last one and the surface because surely as the coffin rots the ground above it becomes unstable thus the surface soil collapses and the top coffin and corpse is exposed or you could fall into the grave and quite literally fall through the coffins into the bottom unless you cemented the top coffin or once theres four in cement the lot this also prevents grave robbery as some people are buried with gold rings jewelery could that be the next crime wave burke and hare style do you put 24 hour cctv on it?.. can you imagine that for a job watching a cemetery all night on a screen.

the other alternative is to cremate make burials more expensive and cremations cheaper to encourage cremetoria,

or go down the road of grave recycling once someone has been in their grave for 99 years and its very unlikely that they will recieve visitors

you could re consecrate and re use the the grave as i doubt there would be much left of you after 99 years but ensure that there is a 1ft layer of soil between the previous occupant and the new one as you dont want to look into the grave and have a scallywag smiling at you do you ?

with an ever growing population these matters need to be addressed

and soon by councils even abandoned cemeteries could be re used

either as a cemetery again or as arable farmland with a stipulation that the field must not be ploughed more than 3ft deep and must be checked after every ploughing to ensure nothing has come to the surface.

there are ways but using viable arable land or woodland for cemeteries is not one of them.

Cremation.....................sorted.

Back in the old days, they seemed to have it figured out.

Stuff bodies in the family crypt, and close up. Later, open the crypt, and push the bones and other dried up remains to the back, and add the new bodies, reseal.

I think cremation is the real answer, though. Cremate, and scatter the cremains in the mulch pile for the family garden, or donate to the local Botanic Garden, or city mulch project.

There is some kind of 100 year law on graves in the U.K. As i understand it, graves can be dug up for new after 100 years providing no living relative objects. I'm not sure of the facts but the wife will know. This seems to be one solution as there's been a to do lately over some cemetery being dug up to make way for a new muslim cemetery. That seems sensible to me, if there are no relatives visiting century old graves, then dig up for new burials.

Peter Lake;1465924 wrote: There is some kind of 100 year law on graves in the U.K. As i understand it, graves can be dug up for new after 100 years providing no living relative objects. I'm not sure of the facts but the wife will know. This seems to be one solution as there's been a to do lately over some cemetery being dug up to make way for a new muslim cemetery. That seems sensible to me, if there are no relatives visiting century old graves, then dig up for new burials.


What happens to the skeletal remains, etc. of those dug up?

AnneBoleyn;1465929 wrote: What happens to the skeletal remains, etc. of those dug up?


They go to feed the poor,,











































They are Interred elsewhere.

Oscar Namechange;1465930 wrote: They go to feed the poor,,

They are Interred elsewhere.


You had me going there oscar. I didn't think there was any meat left on the bones to make soup.

There is a system in some European countries the the skeletons are dug up after a certain amount of time & the skull placed in a box & stacked in a vault with hundreds of others, each respectfully inscribed. There is a specific name for them, but it escapes me at the moment.

As for multi level graves, it's more a matter of culture.

My Mother died about 20 years ago now (yet it still only seems like last year) whilst on holiday in Pollenca. Now, apparently Pollenca is basically nothing more than a very pretty big lump of rock sticking out of the Med & consequentally digging graves is no mean feat, so this is done using explosives to blast a hole in the ground. The deceased are then buried 3 deep, with layers of concrete above each one. My Mother is buried in the middle level.

As well as having subterranean graves like that, they also have the more familiar above ground crypts - stone boxes, often surrounded by a decorative wrought iron fence.

In the Pollenca Cemetery (which, incidentally, is also a Tourist Attraction), there are also graves set into the rock face, somewhat akin to the slide in drawers you see in a mortuary, where the coffins are slid in & sealed with stone / cement.

The cemetery is immaculately maintained, and relatives can hire cleaning materials on site in order to keep their loved ones memorials in perfect condition, unlike the English tradition which seems to be to pretty much leave the graveyards grow wild, at one with nature. I guess there's no right or wrong, it's purely down to the individual culture & what you're used to.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with multi-storey graves, apart that, as far as I'm concerned, it seems a terrible waste of space. I've already registered myself with my local Health Authority stating that I leave my body to do with as they will, be it for organ doning and / or training / research purposes & dispose of the remains as they see fit (i.e. in the hospital incinerator).

When my Father died, he went off In a coffin and returned In a box as he's donated his body to medical science. My Mother was not happy !!! He was buried In the graveyard In my home town and then a year later, my Mother ashes were buried on top of him. After 2 years of protocol and red tape, my baby daughter's remains were also moved on top of my Mother. Sadly when my sister died of breast cancer, there was just no room left In the town graveyard and we had no choice but to bury her In another very ancient Graveyard In the middle of the Sussex Downs nearby.

I'm not against stacking for people of the same families but I do think It's totally wrong to expect grieving relatives to share.

My Sister Is buried In an area dubbed ' outstanding natural beauty' but It's In the middle of nowhere. You can't even leave flowers as the rabbits eat them. It's extremely peaceful but In a strange way, I don't like her being up there all on her own.

Botolphs Cemetery

OH DEAR GOD! Where the hell are you people from? :wah:

I have a family plot and because the city buried a baby doe in the plot there is only two left. My sister and her husband will be buried together as will me and mine. On top of each other. BUT, we will be in vaults so we will not be caving in on each other. And with the price of coffins these days, they damn well better hold up for 99 years! This plot goes back to my great-grand parents.

We also have a cemetery here in the city that about once a year the city gets up in arms because no one is taking care of it. Some volunteers get together and cut the grass and trim back weeds, then they get pissed and quit, and so such the circle twirls. The owner of the land died and the family refuses to acknowledge the land because, blah blah blah, the city can't do anything because it's private property and yak yak yak. So its up to vols to keep it clean. No one is allowed to be buried there anymore. And no, they will never let it go for fear someone 20 years from now might build a house on top of it and when the first rain comes, there will be bodies in the basements! Besides it's just too much like desecration to do that. YUK!

I love cemeteries. But only the one with no restrictions. I don't like the ones that are flat with on a small marker on the grave.:yh_ghost

Oscar Namechange;1465941 wrote: When my Father died, he went off In a coffin and returned In a box as he's donated his body to medical science. My Mother was not happy !!! He was buried In the graveyard In my home town and then a year later, my Mother ashes were buried on top of him. After 2 years of protocol and red tape, my baby daughter's remains were also moved on top of my Mother. Sadly when my sister died of breast cancer, there was just no room left In the town graveyard and we had no choice but to bury her In another very ancient Graveyard In the middle of the Sussex Downs nearby.

I'm not against stacking for people of the same families but I do think It's totally wrong to expect grieving relatives to share.

My Sister Is buried In an area dubbed ' outstanding natural beauty' but It's In the middle of nowhere. You can't even leave flowers as the rabbits eat them. It's extremely peaceful but In a strange way, I don't like her being up there all on her own.

Botolphs Cemetery


Oh, bless your heart.

I say, take some flowers. She may like having brunch with a bunny.

I' more in favour of the "Natural Burials", where you are buried in a Papier Mache coffin, and instead of a big slab of concrete (which eventually falls over with the ravages of time) is planted a sapling tree. As the tree grows it gains nutrients from the body & the relatives get to have a living memorial.

911;1465947 wrote: Oh, bless your heart.

I say, take some flowers. She may like having brunch with a bunny. Thank you.

In the Cemetary there Is a babies plot. It's a beautiful little area with angels and toys. If I need a thought of comfort now and then, I think of my Sister beside the babies graves looking after them because that's what she would do In life. She was every child's Mummy In her town. I know that sounds over sentimental but It gets me through. My Sister left 3 young children when she died.