Byron poem ‘not Christian enough for a churchyard’
THE Church of England has ruled that a verse written by Lord Byron is not fit to be put on a churchyard gravestone.
Grieving John Chadfield asked to include the lines on the gravestone for his wife of 50 years, Elaine.
But a judge said the theme of the poem – ‘So, we’ll go no more aroving’ – was not sufficiently religious. Stephen Eyre QC, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lichfield, in his role as a judge of the Church’s Consistory Court, also prevented Mr Chadfield from using the phrases ‘my much loved wife’ and ‘our two boys’ on the gravestone.
Mr Chadfield went to the Consistory Court seeking consent for a wedge-shaped rough stone memorial with his proposed inscription on a bronze plaque for his wife, who died aged 71 in October 2017.
The Diocesan Advisory Committee objected to the words and also said the gravestone did not fit in with the churchyard at St Leonard’s in Bradley in the Moors, Staffordshire. The judge overrode their objections to the stone, but sided with them on the wording.
Byron (pictured), described by one lover as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’, wrote the poem around 1817. But Judge Eyre said the verse was ‘part of a secular poem which conveys no suggestion of Christian resurrection hope’.
He added: ‘The message conveyed by an inscription must be consistent with Christian belief and must be something more than an expression of loss, no matter how deeply felt.’ He said: ‘Inscriptions will be read not just by those who knew the departed loved one but also by those who did not.’ Mr Chadfield also wanted also to use the words: ‘My much loved wife of 50 years and mother of our two boys, died at home aged 71. She met her death with courage and is now at peace.’ The judge said he considered use of the words ‘my’ and ‘our’ would render the gravestone ‘overly personal’ and that ‘ sons’ should replace ‘boys’.