Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Repairing Gravestones

Photo by Midge Frazel 2011

The Doctor is In
Broken gravestones should only be repaired or reset by those who know how to do it. I took this photo in the Lower Village Cemetery here in Stow, MA with the permission of the cemetery superintendent. 

The town hired a conservator who knows how to do this correctly and since repairs take some days to accomplish, the cemetery superintendent must keep an eye on the job until the area around the stone is complete and the equipment holding the bonding material can be safely removed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Midge, Thanks for this important topic! You certainly have answered a burning question for me. I am glad professional conservators are used in most spots.

Jack Robinson said...

Nice images and information. Fixing a damaged does take time especially the planning stage.

When I explain how I fix damaged stones I always tell them that proper tools, bonding material (different stones need different bonding material) and understanding of the environment and temperature also is important.

Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the updated photo of the gravestone of Paul Litchfield. Would you or may I post a copy of it to the Find A Grave Memorial# 84905249. I was so excited to find even a piece of it in 2008 and so disappointed when there was nothing visible in 2011. It is exciting to know the town cares enough to restore these stones.

Thank you again.