Genealogy Chat

Can anyone recommend what I should use to clean a grave stone dated 1940. Thanks Regards Margaret

Margaret, Start with water and a soft brush. http://www.ctgravestones(.)com/Conservation/cleaning.htm If you do a search on "cleaning gravestones" you will find loads of advice. Crista

Thanks so much Max and Crista. Now, why didn't I think of those things!! Regards Margaret

Have you tried using a torch. By shining it at an angle on the part you are reading you can somtimes get the shadow to highlight the worn out letter/number. A wet sponge is less damaging than a brush, especially on a really weathered stone.

Thanks Ann - the torch is a great suggestion for the future. This stone is very readable I just don't want to damage it. Regards Margaret

I pressume we are talking moss and green algie etc. If ordenery soap and water do not do the trick Try an oxigenating cleaner such as Oxi-gel these are safe and will lift organics easy.

Find out whether monumental inscriptions have been transcribed for the graveyard. Family history societies, the WI and Victorian antiquaries are amongst those who may have done so, with varying degrees of accuracy. Try looking down a long card board tube held close to the stone. With the light shining on them obliquely, the letters may be easier to read. Before you touch the stone, check that cleaning is permitted: that irritating lichen which conceals the wording may be very rare and much prized by conservationists. And finally, learn from my mistake and NEVER EVER pull ivy away. Clip it, leave it to die, and come back later. I pulled ivy away from an ancestor's gravestone, a great chunk of sandstone fell off, and now the letters are lost entirely: not only for me, but for potentially hundreds of people who share that ancestor. Brenda

I note you say its readable. Do you whant to clean it to take a photo of it. if so take the pic as the stone as is and do a rubbing to get the words. Saves work and conserves the plant life.

There are some tips on photographing gravestones here http://www.australianwargraves.org/HELP.html Martin

Thanks for that tip Brenda. I have spoken to the Church warden about cleaning and in one case repairing my ancestors stones. They all have ivy over them. So I will cut them off at ground level then. As they are sandstone and one is hardly legible, is there anything I can do to improve them? Luckily, the Victorian village squire and sketched every stone and copied the legend into a beautiful note book and the Church warden gave me copies.

I've been told ordinary diluted washingup liquid is good. nell

one way to see what is on the stone is to photograph it with a light set at different angles (this is becuse of the ware on the stone, one side might be more worn than the other.) If you can do it on your compter play with the pics to lower or raise the contrast, one or more of the pics should bring out the words better doing this. if you have not find some one who knows about photography and explain your needs to them.

nudge

nudge for Moira

Thanks Louise, this is a really useful thread. Moira.