HUSBAND WINS HEADSTONE FIGHT
Court overturns ban after 34-month wait
A HUSBAND has finally won his fight for a memorial stone on his wife’s grave after taking the case to an ecclesiastical court.
Lynn Wright died in August 2018 and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints in Dilhorne.
The 64-year-old, from Cheadle, was described as a ‘cherished’ mother, ‘much loved’ grandmother and ‘beloved’ wife.
But when her husband Arthur applied for permission to put up a polished red granite headstone with gold lettering, he was turned down.
The then vicar, Reverend Linda Lucking, claimed gold writing was ‘not permissible’ and the size and colour of the memorial would ‘not be in keeping’ with the churchyard’s other headstones.
Now Mr Wright has petitioned the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Lichfield and has finally won his case – more than two years after his wife’s death.
In his ruling, Judge Stephen Eyre QC said it would be ‘artificial and unjust’ to decline to approve the memorial as gold lettering was widespread among the other headstones at All Saints’ Church.
Judge Eyre said: “In those circumstances, the use of polished red granite for this memorial will be neither unsightly nor jarring.
“It will be readily apparent that the memorial is of a different kind of stone from most of those in the churchyard, but it will not be the only memorial of such stone and will not cause the loss of an otherwise harmonious experience.”
The inscription will include Mrs Wright’s age, reference to her roles as wife, mother and grandmother, and a statement that she is ‘resting in God’s care while being remembered with love in the hearts of her family’.
Mr Wright made written submissions, which included photographs.
He said that around 60 of the 73 memorials near his wife’s final resting place had gold inscriptions, and some ‘appear to bear coloured images of various kinds’.
The Diocesan Advisory Committee recommended approval of Mr Wright’s petition.