Editing Gravestone (section)

== Safety ==
Over time a headstone may settle or its fixings weaken. After several instances where unstable stones have fallen in dangerous circumstances, some burial authorities "topple test" headstones by firm pressure to check for stability. They may then tape them off or flatten them.

[[File:September sun in a cemetery. The fallen bough of a tree rests on top of a gravestone in Southern Cemetery, Manchester 02.jpg|thumb|A gravestone is supported after being damaged by the bough of a tree in [[Southern Cemetery, Manchester]]]]
This procedure has proved controversial in the UK, where an authority's [[duty of care]] to protect visitors is complicated because it often does not have any ownership rights over the dangerous marker. Authorities that have knocked over stones during testing or have unilaterally lifted and laid flat any potentially hazardous stones have been criticised, after grieving relatives have discovered that their relative's marker has been moved.<ref>[https://www.cemeteryfriends.com/articles/safety.php National Federation of Cemetery Friends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925102034/https://www.cemeteryfriends.com/articles/safety.php |date=25 September 2019 }} Safety in cemeteries guidance</ref> Since 2007 [[consistory court]] and local authority guidance now restricts the force used in a topple test and requires an authority to consult relatives before moving a stone. In addition, before laying a stone flat, it must be recorded for posterity.<ref>[http://www.ecclawsoc.org.uk/cases/case47.shtml Ecclesiastical Case Reports] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012150458/http://www.ecclawsoc.org.uk/cases/case47.shtml |date=12 October 2008 }} Re Keynsham Cemetery Gravestones</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lgo.org.uk/pdf/LGO-612-Special-Report-final.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907053910/http://www.lgo.org.uk/pdf/LGO-612-Special-Report-final.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Advice and guidance from The Local Government Ombudsmen|archivedate=7 September 2008}}</ref>