Unsafe headstones at risk of being laid flat in historic East Lothian graveyard

More than 100 headstones in a historic church graveyard are at risk of being laid flat after failing a safety test.

East Lothian Council has placed warning signs on 113 grave stones at St Mary’s Kirk in Haddington following an inspection.

The local authority says work to make the markers, some of which date back hundreds of years, safe will begin in late autumn and the signs are there to alert lair owners that work is needed.

If owners do not step in to carry out repair work themselves then the council has a responsibility to make them safe which will involve either laying them flat, digging them into the ground or propping them up against their bases.

The local authority said every failed stone would be considered on its own merit and none would be removed.

In total 1,146 headstones in St Mary’s were inspected by the council. The church is also home to 12 First World War graves however a council spokesperson said none of those were involved in the inspection with their care and maintenance covered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who own them.

St Mary’s Kirk’s presence in the town dates back as far as the 12th century in some form although it was ruined during the Siege of Haddington in the mid 1500s.

Famous Scottish Reformation leader John Knox trained as a priest at St Mary’s and instigated its repairs in the mid 16th century which saw a barrier wall created restricting the church to the area of the nave and leaving the crossing and choir without a roof.

It is said that the restricted space suited Knox because it shut off the congregation’s view of its high altar and associations with Catholicism.

The church remained restricted until a full restoration was carried out in the 1970s.

As well as a place of worship St Mary’s is considered an important community asset and has been one of the host venues of the annual Lammermuir Festival this month.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government introduced new national rules requiring burial authorities to carry out regular scheduled inspections of headstones for the safety of cemetery visitors as well as staff and contractors.

“To comply with the government legislation, the headstones in all council cemeteries are being assessed. For any headstone found to be unstable, a sign is fixed to the stone by plastic banding or zip ties advising the lair owner the headstone is unsafe.

“While the council has a duty of care to ensure safety within our cemeteries, each headstone remains the responsibility of the lair holder. When an issue is identified, it is the lair holder’s responsibility to arrange repairs with a qualified memorial mason. If the lair holder is deceased, a living relative can have ownership of the lair transferred into their name to enable them to instruct a memorial mason to carry out repairs.

“Where a memorial is identified as posing a potential risk, action must be taken to ensure public safety. In cases where there is an immediate concern and no repair has been arranged, temporary measures – such as carefully laying the memorial flat or socketing the memorial into the ground – may be taken as a precaution.

“Memorials should only be repaired by a fully qualified memorial mason with appropriate public liability insurance. Not all stone masons are qualified to work on memorials.”