Lovely one Dai, Its the price that puts folk off these days. I used to work as a Monumental Mason in a Welsh Slate Quarry, even a basic one was about £600 & thats going back 20 odd years:(
I`ve been visiting that cemetary since a young boy, and that is the first time I have seen that stone. Also came across a nice bronze, Masonic plaque. Will add it in a bit.
And, I know you've seen this one before, but I visit his grave everytime I go to Whitchurch Canonicorum. Georgi Markov, the humanitarian murdered by the Bulgarian secret service by means of a poisoned umbrella.
People don't want stone headstones these days, they choose either granite or marble, although the gold lettering doesn't last as long as the lettering in stone does. Val
Not so many burials now more cremations, As stated earlier the price is the problem MILs basic headstone £1200 plus £10 per letter The good bit was, she had it in her garage for the past ten years and we just had to pay for the END DATE thank god it was in MAY Jack McHammocklashing
September would have bankrupted you. It used to be £4 a letter ish, depending on size & font. There is a lot of middle man mark ups going on for headstones. Your basic piece of Slate should only be £100 upwards, its not fine masonry, only a bit of machine cutting. The letters are rarely cut by hand, either a pattern cut or sand blasted.
Brookwood Cemetery near Woking has some splendid grave stones and wonderful statuary - here's an example:
Love Brookwood Cemy Tiarella, Done some really good lurking there. Peered thru a crack in one of the Mausoleums there, when my eye focused on the gloom, there was a coffin inches away from my head.
