AN UNDERGROUND crypt has been uncovered within the churchyard of All Saints’, Martock, in Somerset, after an 18th-century tomb collapsed on Saturday.
The resulting 12-foot sinkhole has been cordoned off by Martock Parish Council, which is accountable for the upkeep of the churchyard, long since closed for burials.
Paul FilleryThe Vicar of Martock, the Revd Paul Fillery
The Vicar of Martock, the Revd Paul Fillery, told the Church Times on Monday: “We are coping with a collapsed family vault dating back perhaps to the 1750s.
“Underground, they constructed a considerable room manufactured from local Ham stone with a solid floor and ceiling. The family would have been placed on shelves that lined the partitions. This was topped outside by a box tomb monument with their names on the faces of the monument.” The inscriptions on the outer tomb aren’t any longer legible due to the damage caused within the collapse.
Erosion over time had led the roof of the vault, and, consequently, the entire structure to fail, Mr Fillery said. “We can’t see any human stays as yet, but there may very well be 4 people buried in that space.”
The site is Grade I listed; so it could must be “fastidiously repaired and restored” by the Parish Council, he said. “We are working closely along with them and the diocese. The church buildings adviser, Mark Lidster, has already been to go to the location. We are concerned to make the location as protected as possible and might be monitoring the adjoining graves to make sure they’re stable. Obviously this might be a substantial restoration exercise, involving cranes and heavy-lifting gear.”
