Book shaped headstones are a popular choice of memorial for those who may want something that differs from the conventional rectangular design.   

The book can signify a number of things. It may be a document of the deceased’s life, listing their date of birth and death, family and vocation. Alternatively it may indicate that a chapter is over. If the memorial has a torn cover, then this means that the deceased’s life was cut short too soon.

In some cases, the book may be closed due to the deceased having moved from this life to the next. There are also religious meanings, the book signifying the Bible and this may be emphasised by a religious citation. Book shaped headstones are not restricted to Christian burials and in Muslim graves for example could signify the Koran.

Book shaped headstones are traditionally black granite but they can be made from marble or other types of granite. Both these materials can be cut into the book shape easily and the lettering can be carved into the stone or laser etched.

One thing to consider when it comes to book shaped headstones is that if the book is open then this reduces the width, meaning there is less space for lettering. As such you should take this into account when thinking of a book shaped headstone, as the length of your intended inscription or epitaph may need to be shortened. This reduction though can be offset by having a riser base, which allows more room for an inscription there.

Sarsfield Memorials have a range of headstones that are book shaped and some examples can be seen here. If you are considering a book shaped headstone for your loved one’s grave please contact us. We will be happy to discuss your requirements and provide a free no obligation quote

The site of the former Ogdens tobacco factory in Everton is currently being converted into over one hundred homes. Only the listed clock tower, which will be converted into apartments, survives of a factory that employed over two thousand at its peak.

Ogdens was founded in 1860 when Thomas Ogden opened a shop in Park Lane in the south end of Liverpool. More shops opened across the town during the next decade, as well as a factory in St James Street. After Ogden died in 1890, the running of the company was taken over by two of his sons. The factory and offices at Boundary Lane in Everton were built in 1899, merging the operations of six others that were spread across the city into one site.

In 1901 Ogdens was sold to the American Tobacco Company for £818,000, equivalent to £92 million today. A year later it was back in British hands when the Imperial Tobacco Company was formed out of a merger between several companies. The Ogdens named didn’t disappear though and cigarettes were made the for sixty years.

From 1962 the site concentrated on pipe and had rolled tobacco, with the factory being redeveloped and modernised in the late 1970s.  As attitudes to smoking changed the factory went into decline and in 2006 the Imperial Tobacco Company announced it was ceasing production at Boundary Lane.  The last tobacco was produced there in March 2007 and the site put up for sale. English Heritage immediately moved to secure Grade II listed status for the office block and clock tower, citing its high quality of craftsmanship both internally and externally.

To reflect their various business interests, Bristol based Imperial Tobacco renamed itself Imperial Brands in 2016, the same year their last UK factory in Nottingham closed.

After having lain empty for nine years, Liverpool Mutual Homes completed the purchase of the Ogdens Tobacco site in 2016. The office block and clock tower remain but the factory buildings have been demolished to make way for affordable new homes. Thomas Ogden, whose opening of a tobaccos shop back in 1860 began the chain of events that led to this, is buried in Toxteth Park Cemetery. His grave is one of the closest to the chapel but sadly the lettering is badly weathered and largely illegible.

Over the Christmas period a story appeared in the national newspapers concerning Liverpool born actress Kim Cattrall’s name appearing on a family headstone in a churchyard in the city. Other family members were not happy about it and the situation demonstrates how grave ownership and right of burial should not assumed to be an automatic right.

Before a grave is opened for burial of a body or interment of cremated remains, written permission must be sought from the owner unless it is the owner who has died. The same applies to repair work on the headstone and adding of inscriptions, but the rules do differ between council run cemeteries, private cemeteries and churchyards.

When the owner of a grave dies, then a new owner must be registered before any more burials can take place there or work done on the headstone.  This is known as a transfer of ownership and for council run cemeteries the rules differ between local authorities. For example in Liverpool the deed will transfer automatically to the person who arranges the burial of the owner, even if they are not a relative.

Some other local authorities however will not transfer grave ownership unless it is stated in a will, or if there is family agreement. In these situations  for example, if a grave owner dies leaving four children, the one who applies for transfer of ownership must have the written consent of the others. If a dispute arises within the family, then this can only be resolved by the members themselves otherwise they will need to seek the help of a solicitor.

Your local cemetery office can advise on whether you have a right to claim grave ownership in line with their regulations and assist with the transfer of ownership, for which some cemeteries will charge a fee. If you are looking to erect a new headstone or repair a damaged one on a family grave, then at Sarsfield Memorials we will be happy to assist you in establishing your rights.

Please contact us and we will be happy to discuss the situation, but please be aware that we will NEVER carry out work on any grave without the written permission of the legally registered owner.

Christmas is a time when people may make an extra effort to visit the graves of loved ones. There is probably no place more so than Finland, where Christmas cemetery visits take on huge significance.

It is  tradition in Finland that everybody tries to get home for Christmas, sometimes as early as 21st December. Christmas Eve takes on far more importance than in many other countries, with families eating a breakfast of porridge and plum juice together. They then purchase and decorate the tree, before visiting cemeteries to pay their respects at the graves of family members.

Such is the popularity of visiting cemeteries in Finland that the police can often be seen controlling the traffic. It has been estimated that as many as 75% of Finnish people from various denominations visit graves. A particularly popular time to visit is at 3pm shortly before it goes dark. Families light the cemeteries up by leaving candles in hanging lanterns by the grave, leading to a stunning display of light as they glow against the snow and ice.

Picture by Pollo

Although the cemeteries and churchyards are crowded, it is an eerily quiet scene as people remember their lost relatives. There are even people who do not have relatives buried there who go to stroll among the serene landscape. The tradition of visiting graves at this time of year goes back many centuries, but the widespread use of candles only began in the 1920s when they became affordable.

Once the grave visits are over, families usually return to their homes although it is also traditional to take a sauna. The main meal, consisting of pork and vegetables is then consumed in the early evening and afterwards the arrival of Santa Claus is awaited. After the presents have been delivered, they are opened shortly before midnight. Christmas Day is then much quieter, a day of relaxation with Boxing Day then being used for family visits.

Christmas is a time when relatives often seek to visit graves of loved ones, ensuring they are not forgotten at such a special time of year.

Sometimes cemetery visits for Christmas grave tending may not be practical for weather, geographical or health reasons, or maybe because there simply isn’t enough time. If this is the case Sarsfield Memorials can help you out if your relative is buried in a cemetery in the Liverpool, Knowsley or south Sefton areas.

We can visit your loved one’s grave and leave a wreath, potted bulbs or flowers there for you. Popular choices of flowers for Christmas graves include roses and lilies, but you may prefer to have artificial ones that will last longer against the elements. For a more religiously minded symbol, holly crosses or holly wreaths can also be left. We will also ensure the area around the grave is tidy, cleaning the vase and removing any old flowers or litter that have gathered in the autumn and early winter.

At the end of our visit we will photograph the grave and send the image to you via email or in the post. If required we can remove any items at the end of the holiday period. Prices start at £10 and anybody using our Christmas grave tending service this year can also take advantage of a special offer up until the end of March 2017. If you require the grave to be re-fixed, cleaned or the letters re-gilded, we will give you a 20% discount providing we have carried out work at Christmas and the order is placed before the 31st March 2017.

Sarsfield Memorials’ Christmas visits in 2016 will take place between 19th December and Christmas Eve. Please contact us if you would like us to help you remember someone special at this time of year. We will be happy to discuss your wishes and provide a free no obligation quote.

After several years gathering dust the Blacklers Santa, once a Liverpool Christmas institution, was  put on display again this week at the Museum of Liverpool.

The five metres high  Blacklers Santa was created by artist Peter Blazey in 1957 and was displayed every Christmas until the store in closed in 1988. The focal point of the Great Charlotte Street store’s grotto, it captivated the imagination of visiting children and has now been restored thanks to a £10,000 donation from medial mogul Phil Redmond. It will now be on display annually at the popular waterfront museum.

The Blacklers store was first opened by Richard John Blackler and his business partner A B Wallis in 1908. After Richard’s death in 1919, his widow Margaret took over her husband’s share of the store. After being gutted by fire following an air raid in the May Blitz of 1941, Blacklers managed to keep going. They moved quickly to acquire a number of smaller temporary premises from which to operate in Church Street and Bold Street. Blacklers had trouble of another kind in 1941, being fined £8 for purchasing eggs from a Welsh farmer at higher then the government controlled price. Their defence, that it had been done to feed staff and not for profit, was dismissed by magistrates.

Twelve years after the air raid, a fully renovated store on the original site re-opened in 1953. The 1950s was a resurgent decade for Liverpool and Blacklers played its part in this, employing over one thousand people. Amongst these employees was Beatle George Harrison, who as an apprentice electrician there before the band went on to greater things. Margaret Blackler died at the age of eighty five in 1957, the same year that the Blacklers Santa first went on display. She was buried alongside her husband in Allerton cemetery.

Margaret Blackler had no children and her god-daughter Vera Kingston became the major shareholder. After Vera died in 1983 the store fell into the hands of private owners and closed just five years later. In the early 1990s, the city’s first Wetherspoons pub, the Richard John Blackler, opened on the site.

The Blacklers Santa fell into disrepair for over twenty five years, leaving on the head, hands and boots intact. Following Phil Redmond’s donation Peter Blazey himself carried out the restoration work, having made a career of creating grottos. Blazey told the Liverpool Echo that it was like recreating his youth, and Phil Redmond and his wife Alexis joined him for the unveiling at the Museum of Liverpool in Mann Island on 15th November 2016.

If you are purchasing a grave or erecting/renovating a headstone at any Liverpool City council operated cemetery, there are a range of fees that are applicable and  they vary according to whether or not you are a resident of the city.

As at 1st November 2016, it costs Liverpool residents £900 to purchase a new burial grave while those for cremated remains are £557. These prices include the right to erect a memorial there, but do not include the cost of the interment itself. This costs £740 for a full burial of an adult, £132 for a child under sixteen and £228 for cremated remains, whether it be in a newly purchased grave or an existing one. For non Liverpool residents, the cost of the grave purchase and interment needs to be doubled.

These prices are on the assumption that the interment will take place on a weekday, for a Saturday they rise by 50% and for a Sunday they double. The interment fees for existing graves include the cost of removing the headstone only, if you have a kerbset then you must contact a mason for them to remove the headstone and kerbs, Liverpool city council will not remove them. A mason will charge for this service. We are able to remove them at the agreed cost and we will store them for you free of charge until the ground has settled and they can be refixed. If the council remove the headstone for an internment it will remain lying on the grave until you authorise a mason to refix it, this is due to changes in health and safety regulations, they must be fixed with an anchoring system by an approved mason.

If you are looking to add or replace a headstone to a grave that was purchased or re-opened before 1st April 2002 a different set of fees apply. It is £300 for the right to erect a new larger monument anything over 48″ tall, or £142 for the right to place a memorial on both a full and cremated remains grave. The right to add kerbsets to these graves is £90, while for Jewish graves they are £142, due to the council supplying the foundation. Often families are confused by the cemetery fees so you can always check with a mason or contact the cemetery office direct on 0151 233 3004.

There may be occasions when you are considering relocating your loved one’s remains, either within the cemetery or somewhere else altogether. Exhumation though is a costly business, with Liverpool city council charging £2297 for a full body. For cremated remains to be exhumed, the cost is £1093 from a full grave and £456 from a cremated remains one.

Liverpool City Council only allows those on its list of Registered Memorial Masons to operate within their cemeteries. Sarsfield Memorials is on this list and can assist with all necessary paperwork and fees if applicable when it comes to erecting or renovating memorials in the city’s cemeteries. Please contact us here for more information and we will be happy to give you a free no obligation quote.