Charlbury Cemetary

Wed 13 Jul 2022, 21:04 (last edited on Wed 13 Jul 2022, 21:07)

Hi Liz,

Firstly, I can completely understand that until you are in my unenviable position you cannot for a second begin to understand the deep grief & pain one experiences every day with the loss of a child. I lost my beautiful, wonderful Kirsten very suddenly & completely unexpectedly (I am still awaiting the Post Mortem results!). Laying her to rest in our beautiful cemetery was the one last thing I could do for her. ‘Rest’ being the operative word. It is completely unacceptable the desecration  that happened. I know you stated in your recent email that the grave diggers are not in the employ of the Town Council, but if the graves were better spaced & the decision had not been made to squeeze the next resident into that space, it would not have happened. I am so deeply disappointed in the way you appear to not comprehend the seriousness of this situation & that in fact, yes, it is worthy of a discussion, which is why I will be there on the 27th not just for me but for the relatives of others laid to rest there who also have their concerns. 

Wed 13 Jul 2022, 17:26

I have let Debbie know that of course she can attend the town council meeting on 27th July at 19.30 to speak to councillors if she would like to. 

Wed 13 Jul 2022, 11:02

Dear Deborah,  In concert with the town clerk, we have already taken action and I have sent you an email.  Just checking that you got it.  There will be no need for the town council to discuss at its meeting.

Mon 11 Jul 2022, 21:46

Thank you Dine, for clarifying.

Mon 11 Jul 2022, 12:38

Deborah - I am one of the Churchwardens for St Mary's, the Parish Church in Charlbury. I am also very sorry to hear about your concerns. Unfortunately, our church does not own the cemetery or the surrounding land. I believe the cemetery is owned/operated by the Town Council, so Liz is probably best placed to help you. 

Best regards,

Dine

Mon 11 Jul 2022, 10:00

Thank you Susie. I'm grateful.

Sun 10 Jul 2022, 22:37

It’s on 27 July at 7.30pm Morris Room

Sun 10 Jul 2022, 21:44

Liz, can you tell us when the next meeting is scheduled for, please?

Sun 10 Jul 2022, 12:25

Thank you, Liz.

Sun 10 Jul 2022, 11:07

Dear Deborah, I'm very sorry to hear about your concerns.  The town council will review these matters at its next meeting and report back to you.

Liz Reason, Chair of the Town Council

Sun 10 Jul 2022, 10:33

I have just done my weekly pilgrimage to refresh the flowers on my recently deceased daughter’s grave. She is located in the ‘newer’ section of the Cemetary & since her passing in early March she has acquired a ‘neighbour’ (fair enough). However, her location & the location of her neighbour is such that I felt certain that there would be no more space for another body in her ‘aisle’ - it is a tight enough squeeze navigating between her plot & her neighbours. You can imagine my distress when on entering the Cemetary I could see that not only was there going to be another ‘resident’ but the pile of earth removed from said plot had disturbed the beautiful slate grave marker I had installed along with moving a beautiful angel figurine. A vase with flowers in had also been upturned - all in all it appeared little care had been taken. Now where will the mourners of this new resident stand whilst he/she is interred? Will they be forced to trample not only over her grave but that of her neighbours?

When discussing her burial with the Church Warden, I understood that the church owns most of the surrounding land? Why then are they packing our dearly departed in like sardines.

It goes without saying that as a recently bereaved mother this is NOT what I needed to see.