Ebenezer Scrooge Gravestone Damaged, Evoking Strong Reactions in Shrewsbury

Residents in Shrewsbury have voiced “furious” sentiments following the “disgraceful” destruction of a gravestone dedicated to Ebenezer Scrooge. This inscribed stone, which served as a prop in a 1984 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, has been situated in the graveyard adjacent to St Chad’s Church in the town for four decades. Helen Ball, the town council clerk, indicated that staff would assess the possibility of repairing the damaged gravestone. Resident Christine conveyed her feelings to BBC Radio Shropshire, stating: “I’m just really furious, because why would they do it when people go there to see it?” Nigel Hinton, a local town guide, had scheduled Christmas Carol tours for this December, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the film based on the Charles Dickens classic. He noted that the stone’s condition had “attracted even more attention.” “It’s very upsetting,” Mr Hinton commented regarding the damage. He added, “It’s a very iconic piece of prop left over from a film, which had a major impact on Shrewsbury’s tourism I think.” He observed that “People have been going along sympathising and really having a look at it.” He also pointed out that it was formerly a gravestone that was “unreadable.” Martin Wood, who leads Christmas Carol tours around Shrewsbury and appeared in the film 40 years ago, stated, “we believe it was actually a gravestone for somebody else.” He further explained: “The film company had to do a lot of research to sort of try and discover who was underneath it before they got permission… to actually use it and put Ebenezer’s name on the top of it.” He concluded, “So, yeah, I mean it’s been there for donkeys years.” Addressing its broken state, Mr Wood remarked: “When I saw the photographs, I thought ‘why?'” He questioned, “What pleasure do they actually get from doing something like this?” Christine expressed that a tradition had been lost. She commented, “It’s a tradition, an old tradition and they’ve ruined it.” She added, “My grandkids love going ..honestly, but they’ve ruined it.” Additionally, resident Linda stated: “For people of our age to be able to tell your grandchildren about it, [it’s] a special thing, isn’t it?” She further mentioned that local residents had “grown up” with the film. The majority of the movie’s production took place in the Shropshire town. The gravestone appears in a scene where Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and clears snow to uncover his own name. Regarding the damage, one man remarked: “That’s terrible… [it’s] a local landmark and it’s much loved around here.” Another woman described it as “vandalism to the extreme,” adding, “What was the point in it? I don’t know, absolutely disgraceful.” For updates, follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. This content is copyrighted by BBC 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.