Ebenezer Scrooge Gravestone Repaired Ahead of Christmas

The gravestone of Ebenezer Scrooge has been reinstalled after being shattered by vandals in November. The stone had remained in the graveyard of St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury, having been utilized as a prop during the 1984 filming of a movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Local firm Midland Masonry performed the repairs without charge, concluding the majority of the work on Friday and planning to return on Monday to repoint the cracks. Stonemason Ed Jones commented, “It’s been a bit of a challenge but nothing too unusual, apart from the name on the grave.” Mr. Jones indicated that the stone, which once belonged to a real person, would not appear exactly as it did previously. He stated, “They [the public] will see the cracks unfortunately, but it will look OK, you can read it again you can see what it is.” He further added, “It looks like its been restored and that’s what we want to see really.” Helen Ball, the town clerk at Shrewsbury Town Council, described it as “heartening and humbling” that the company carried out the work for free. She remarked, “I don’t think I realised how important it was to everybody until I put it on social media.” She also noted that she received communications from across the country and even globally when the news became public. “The son of the producer from the original film in 1984 got in touch with us,” she said. “He said his father had always been proud that it [the stone] had been left in situ.” The repair’s completion coincides with the Christmas period, a time when tours are conducted to display the remaining sets from the iconic film. Nigel Hinton, a town guide, observed, “You see people coming up looking specifically for that grave.” He added that people “make a pilgrimage to see this grave, they’ve seen the film and they know that it’s here, and they like to come and see it.” This report is from BBC Shropshire, available on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.