Stone angels in Exwick cemetery
Photo by Mags L Halliday, July 2007
Research your local churchyard or cemetery.
By Curator of West Exe
Here are links to useful websites if you are interested in this area of study (all available on 12 September 2007).
The Association for Gravestone Studies based in the USA
"Are you wondering why anyone would want to study gravestones?... Stones mark the graves of ordinary people, and there are thousands of them in every state in the union. They provide valuable information: genealogy, local history, medical history, religious history, and changing fashions in art and literature."
Thomas Malloy, President
The Cemetery Research Group at the University of York
"The principal aim of the CRG is to expand an understanding of current and past burial culture in the modern period in the UK, by studying the ways in which social, emotional and religious concerns have interacted with economic and political imperatives to frame burial practice.
This website has been designed to provide an introduction to cemeteries in the UK, and also to point towards other useful sources for this subject."
Dr Julie Rugg, University of York.
Privacy and copyright issues related to photographing gravestones
The AGS gives useful guidance on privacy and copyright issues related to photographing gravestones. It is a North American association. The law may differ in the UK and so this information is offered as general guidance only.
Gravestones are private property. Where they are in a public place, such as a churchyard, it is usually acceptable to photograph them. These photographs should not be used for commercial purposes without the permission of the individual or family who own the grave. Some types of photograph may be inappropriate. The ethical photographer will use their judgement and show senstitivity to the loved ones of the deceased.
More details are available on the AGS website at
http://www.gravestonestudies.org/faq.htm#top