A gravestone for Ebenezer Scrooge in Shrewsbury that was smashed to bits has been repaired for free, in what the vicar has described as a “really heartwarming” Christmas story.
The gravestone for Scrooge, a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his 1843 A Christmas Carol, was used as a prop during filming for a 1984 adaptation of the novella.
But one Sunday in November this year, the vicar at St Chad’s church, the Rev Sam Mann, walked past and saw the grave had been shattered in a mystery act of destruction. Now it has been repaired in time for Christmas by a local stonemason.
“When we discovered the vandalism, there was such a sense of shock,” Mann, 31, told the Guardian. “It means so much to Shrewsbury as a town. We get people coming specifically to look at that grave.”
The town and church received an outpouring of messages and support after reports circulated of the destruction.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol follows Scrooge – a mean-spirited moneylender who mistreats and underpays his clerk, Bob Cratchit – who is visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve. Showing Scrooge the impact of his actions and the unmourned damnation that awaits him, the ghosts prompt the old man into a dramatic change of heart, as he embraces generosity and compassion.
Within about 48 hours, the vicar said, the stone was taken away for repair, after local firm Midland Masonry offered to fix it for free. The speedy timeline was remarkable, Mann said, because gravestone changes or repairs usually need diocese approval. In this case the Diocese of Lichfield granted emergency permission.
Local stonemason Ed Jones told BBC Radio Shropshire: “Basically, I spoke to my boss, and he was quite happy for us to do it free of charge.”
The repair, Jones added, involved removing the gravestone, digging out the grave, laying a concrete foundation, fixing the stone with stainless steel pins and resin, applying a mortar repair across the top to address cracks, then adding a cement base so it cannot be lifted.
“I just feel that it’s something we can do for society and for everyone who comes to see it, because it’s an heirloom of Shrewsbury, isn’t it,” Jones said. “People in the street will ask you, ‘Where’s Ebenezer?’ And you just say, ‘Well, it’s down there on the left, in St Chad’s church.’”
The identity and motive of the vandal remains unknown.
The gravestone, Mann said, “for us as a town came to represent our attitude towards welcoming visitors”. He added: “Local people were really hurt that this had happened.”
He praised the work of the Shrewsbury town council, town clerk Helen Ball, Lichfield diocese, and stonemasons Midland Masonry for the swift job.
“The message in the book is all about generosity, isn’t it,’” Mann said. “Actually, in a strange way, this whole episode ties into what Christmas is all about … It’s just really heartwarming that it’s been repaired so quickly and for free.”
