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Burials stop as church graveyard gets full up

Tom Rowley
19/ 4/2006

AFTER almost 170 years, a church graveyard has run out of space.

The vicar of Christ Church on Church Street, Tintwistle has applied for an order to discontinue burials in the church graveyard as there is no more space for new burial plots to be dug.

The Rev Richard Law said: "We are having to go through the process of closing the graveyard because new graves are no longer possible there. However, it will still mean that people can be buried in existing graves and cremation remains can be buried as well. Eventually the local authority will take over the care and maintenance of the graveyard."

Mr Law, who took over as vicar last November, reckons there are more than 500 graves in the graveyard of the church, which dates from 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended the throne.

He said: "At the moment volunteers look after the graveyard, but we have been struggling getting more volunteers for a long time. The local authority will eventually look after the basic maintenance (when the order to discontinue burials is granted), but we will still need some volunteers."

The process of discontinuing burials involves the vicar applying to the Department of Constitutional Affairs in London, which in turn applies for an order to the Privy Council. Objectors have until Thursday, 4 May to contest the order.

Mr Law added that once the church receives permission for closure, it will take at least a year for the local authority to assume full responsibility for requests for new burial plots.