I've either been in, talking about, or hearing academic discussions on church and graveyards quite frequently over the last few weeks. My most recent interaction was related to a conversation regarding resetting headstones which had shifted and sunk in the soil. Debate raged in the community (I won't name which one as the arguments are ongoing) as to whether or not headstones should be reset, left as they were, or (and this is probably the scenario more common than most in such discussions) to remove certain examples altogether. In addition, there are plenty of cemeteries which are delicately manicured, made as presentable and accessible to as many as possible. Okay, so many churchyards are havens for wildflowers, but that does not mean that the more intrusive and cumbersome forms of vegetation are not quickly dealt with, dismissed as a threatening invasive growth which might undermine the graveyard monuments. This all brought back memories of Iceland, where I found examples of foliage in Reykjavík which would probably horrify many custodians of British graveyards. The tradition of tree and shrub growth in Icelandic cemeteries is well established, and significantly adds to the experience and atmosphere of the location. But is this too great a threat in the long term to the monuments, or perhaps a refreshing way of thinking about the use of these spaces, which we might explore in a British context?
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