Posted by admin on Mar 18, 2015
An international dispute has erupted as thousands of bodies could be exhumed from a Guildford graveyard and reburied in a shared grave to make way for a new community centre and car park.
When proposals were first put forward by St John’s Church, to sell off its west graveyard, on the other side of Stoke Road, Guildford, it was thought approximately 200 graves would be dug up. The number is now thought to be in the thousands and plans to build a multimillion pound community centre in the east graveyard could mean moving many hundred more.
Source & Full Story
3/23/15
I understand they want to level Buckingham palace to put a mac Donald and a play set after all why not ! by the way this come from all the way from California
3/23/15
I understand they want to level Buckingham palace to put a mac Donald and a play set after all why not ! by the way this come from all the way from California
3/23/15
I understand they want to level Buckingham palace to put a mac Donald and a play set after all why not !
3/22/15
Reading ‘the full story’, it says:
The Reverend Mark Woodward, rector at the church, said: “The church will ensure, and has always stated, that we want everything to be done to the highest possible standards, and will look to do the excavations ourselves, to ensure it is done properly.
Eventually, if all goes to plan for the church, remains will be placed in a memorial garden behind the new community centre, with the remaining headstones placed around the perimeter of the church.
“We will do all we can to get a clear record and find out more about who is buried there,” Mr Woodward said.
A new car park would be built where the current community centre is, in an attempt to deal with the rising popularity of the church, and make it safer for those who attend or use its services.
3/22/15
Re-interred in a mass grave doesn’t sound right. What is it? Dig a hole and stack them in it, like WWII ? Or dig a wide grave and re-inter them side by side? Will they have individual markers or will they have one marker with all their names/dates/etc? I wouldn’t like to hear they were stacked or not individually named at the grave site. Then there’s the question of how they can move remains without them falling apart. Are the diggers going to respectfully re-place them in a new container or just shovel the decomposed remains into a heavy equipment shovel/bucket to be dumped in the new hole in the ground? The process should be described, care should be taken and not just let corporate shovels dig and dump without proper regard.
3/21/15
If the church regards our loves ones bodies as monetary value for their gain – they will lose their congregation – so sell the church instead and leave our loved ones alone to rest in peace – if they relate to the bible at all. I’m certain they wouldn’t!!
3/20/15
I am disturbed and saddened over the C. of E.’s passiveness and complicity in not ensuring the protections of it’s precious rich tradition, history and antiquity– even the very foundation upon which it stands today, laid by its faithful members of the past–for it’s allowance of churchyard desecrations to occur like this. This is not the first time. Having traversed through that Royal town on several occasions, it’s so sad and heart-wrenching to hear of this horrific decision.
3/20/15
What does rest in peace mean to this church. I am an American and if for some reason a cemetery has to be sold the bodies are re-entered into a different cemetery with respect. I have a lot of family and ancestors in Englad and Wales. If this is allowed this time then where will the next place be? My parents are gone too and I go there to pay my respect and love to them because their grave is the only place I can go to do that since their souls are in Heaven. We paid dearly for the funeral costs, the plot, the headstones. We paid for the eternal spot with perpetual care which is forever. When the church sold that plot to a family then they don’t own it anymore and should not have a right to do what they are doing. God Bless all of the families out there that have loved ones buried there. To the greedy one’s “Karma’ what goes around come’s around. For the church and it’s politices have a heart if you don’t then shame on you.
3/20/15
If all graves were left undisturbed then the world would eventually be nothing but graveyards. The dead aren’t “disturbed” by their bones being moved. They’re dead!
3/20/15
Here in Australia in capital cities the cemerey trend is now that instead of opening a new cemetery they just dig up the remains then dig down deeper put them back in then sell off the plot to some other to use.
What is this modern world coming to I have now chosen to be cremated and not take up their so called precious ground, find which way the wind is blowing then let my ashes go to where ever, I still will still have a burial record.
But to read of this un-holy happening is just down right abuse of lacking in compassion for the remaining history of that area.
3/20/15
I would have thought that when you purchase a burial plot that it is done so in the knowledge and the belief it is in perpetuity. Never to be disturbed. Their families certainly paid to and did so in that belief. I absolutely disagree with this practice and to put all these remains in a mass grave also disgusts me, they didn’t die in a disaster that made them unknown people they lived their lives and died no doubt in the belief that their final resting place was just that FINAL and PERMANENT. Find somewhere else to build surely it would be a lot less expensive to do so, if the removal and replacement was to be done properly and respectfully. This practice need’s to be stopped, respect for the dearly departed and a conscience is something that is increasingly lacking in this day and age. Do we all have to be cremated and put in a jar to stop this happening to us. I know how much it means to me to be able to visit my parents grave and other generations of my family knowing they are there and not there with hundreds or thousands of others. They paid for this right and that is the least they deserve, leave them the hell alone. If this is done I hope they come back to HAUNT those responsible. (Remember Poltergeist).
The people in Guildford Surrey need to stand up and make them take notice this is totally unacceptable most likely it is these people’s family member’s that have been buried there SPEAK FOR THEM that no longer have a voice. I to write from far away being born in New Zealand but this sort of thing is happening all over the world, there is always somewhere else to build greed and laziness because you would have to travel a little bit further to a Community Centre or to park your car. We all need to speak up for them and STOP this practice that is the least we can do.
3/20/15
I write from far away, but If you want to get rid of Historical places, its surely a good start to do this with St Johns Grave yard in Guildford Surrey in the South East of England. It has still “retained” much of its historical charm, with its cobbled high street shows many buildings which are hundreds of years old. The medieval castle was used by the King of England in the 1400s and because of this Guildford is the only royal town in Surrey. With the last burial at the church thought to have taken place in the 1870s, it must have some historical value. If it was for the building of a hospital it would be worth considering, but a community centre, and yet another car park, do us all a favour and do remember of what value history.
3/20/15
I write from far away, but If you want to get rid of Historical places, its surely a good start to do this with St Johns Grave yard in Guildford Surrey in the South East of England. It has still “retained” much of its historical charm, with its cobbled high street shows many buildings which are hundreds of years old. The medieval castle was used by the King of England in the 1400s and because of this Guildford is the only royal town in Surrey. With the last burial at the church thought to have taken place in the 1870s, it must have some historical value. If it was for the building of a hospital it would be worth considering, but a community centre, and yet another car park, do us all a favour and do remember of what value history.
3/20/15
Is there no law that protects this graveyard from being sold off for anything!??
This dosent seem right to disturb the dead like this!??.
And is this church ready for the consequences for doing this!??.
And to totally loss all their congragation for such a move.
This is a blasfamus move on the part of the selfish church. If you do go ahead and do this. Realize the conciquinses of your actions. The dead don’t speck but the living do.