Ebenezer Scrooge’s headstone smashed to pieces in Shropshire has been repaired free of charge, in what the vicar described as a “really heartwarming” nativity scene.
A stone chip for Scrooge, a fictional character created Charles Dickens in his 1843 A Christmas Carol, it was used as a prop in the filming for a 1984 adaptation of the novel.
But one Sunday in November of this year, the vicar in the church of St. Chad, the Rev. Sam Mann, passed by and saw that there was a grave. The break is actually the mystery of destruction. It was restored at the time of Christmas by local stoning.
“When we discovered the vandalism, it was such a shock,” Mann, 31, told the Guardian. “This is just like the town of Salopsbury. We look at people coming specifically to that grave.
The town and church received an outpouring of news and support after rumors of the shooting spread.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol follows Scrooge – a sleazy moneylender who falls foul of and betrays his clerk Bob Cratchit – who is visited by four shadows on Christmas Eve. Showing Scrooge the impact of his actions and the impending doom, the ghosts propel the old man into a dramatic change of heart as he embraces generosity and kindness.
Within about 48 hours, the deputy said the stone was removed for repair, after the local firm Midland Masonry offered to repair it for free. The quick timeline was notable, Mann said, because ticket exchanges or repairs usually need county approval. In this case, the Diocese of Lichfeld granted an emergency license.
Local stonemason Ed Jones he said BBC Radio Salopshire: “Basically I spoke to my boss and he was quite happy to do it for us for free.”
The repair, Jones added, involves removing the stone, excavating the grave, laying a concrete foundation, fixing the intact stone with steel nails and resin, applying mortar over the top to repair electronic cracks, and then adding cement to the base to prevent it. to emphasize
“I just feel that we can do something for the company and everyone who looks at it, because it’s not the legacy of Shropshire,” said Jones. the people who are outside will ask you: where is Ebenezer? And you just say, “Come on, it’s down there to the left, in the church of Saint Chad.”
the identity and reason of the Vandals remains unknown.
The stone wall, Mann said, “has become for us as a town our attitude towards welcoming guests.” He added: “The local people were really hurt that this had happened.”
He praised the work of the Shallow town council, the village clerk Helen Ball, Lichfield diocese, and the stone masons of Midland Masonry for the prompt service.
“The message in the book is about generosity, it’s not,” Mann said. “Actually, in a strange way, this whole episode ties into what Christmas is all about… It’s just really amazing that it was repaired so quickly and for free.”