History v.s. Bad Taste

[lovesickest]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3202107/Millionaire-property-developer-used-children-s-gravestones-patio-country-mansion-inspired-Things-Bright-Beautiful.html

Terrible story about a developer who purchased historic property in the UK and did things to the 16th C. property like rip out carved stone windows to install vinyl ones, and used the headstones from a disused graveyard on his property for things like decor and flagstones. A new low in bad taste !

[jharkin]

and used the headstones from a disused graveyard on his property for things like decor and flagstones. A new low in bad taste !

Well, sadly he wasn't the first to get that idea. Gravestones where used to pave a road in a certain well known and very moving historical film.

[lovesickest]

Hmm, which film was this ?

Were they real gravestones, or was this theatrical location dressing for effect ?

(Please read the article about the guy. His destruction of a historical property - which had historical designation and protections - was really heinous.)

[Sara]

I read it this morning. That article is written very poorly and is hard to follow. But I got the jist, I believe.

The article makes a lot of to do about the gravestones. Which is terrible. I'd like to see photos of how they were used. And to think that someone, even if they now own the church, would think that it's okay to move markers like that. It's troubling.

What I thought was even more remarkable was that the guy knew exactly what he was buying and that it had historical significance. He ripped out key architectural details and put them on a trailer at the back of the property, exposed to the elements. He spent 1 mil (not sure about the conversion) to renovate the property and rip out windows and install new lighting. It's crazy that he thought no one would notice..

[Nicholas]

Was the film "Poltergeist"?

He moved the headstones but he didn't move the bodies?

Sorry for the sick humor, but guaranteed he will pay out of his pocket, or in another way... bad kharma.

[jharkin]

Sorry, I thought you guys would know what I was referring to without spelling it out.


It was in Schindler's List They paved the roads of the concentration camps with Jewish headstones

[Sow's Ear Mal]

I found a gravestone on my property. It was lying flat under six inches of detritus. I dug beneath until I found undisturbed clay, so no body. I set it into my hearth in my log house. I gave me pleasure that Charlotte Sculley, or her headstone at least, was now in the warmth of my home. Can't comment on the other story, but thought I'd add my experience. Mal

[lovesickest]

The Daily Mail is a schlocky tabloid publication - thus the bad writing.

I don't think anyone should be taking landscaping notes from Schindler's List, however - whew !

What struck me was the developer's oblivious arrogance to the historical classifications and protections for that property, that were explicit before he purchased it. That was the sad and horrible part for me, that even with that designation history can be destroyed in favour of crap like vinyl windows and disco bathtubs. Sigh, frown.

Mal, it sounds like you are being respectful of that grave marker, which is a contrast to the design hooliganism described in the article.

[Sashguy]

Yep, born in my neighborhood in 1950 and must admit that having watched it as a poor neighborhood, and now seeing it as a wealthy neighborhood, the poor may have neglected things a bit, but the rich are downright demolishing it.

[Vala]

That story is just so disgusting its unbelievable someone could do that. Especially in a country with a reputation for strict preservation! Hopefully they will make it right, like the cases of buildings demolished without permission they were forced to rebuild them just as they were.