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Minster misery over desecration and destruction in churchyard

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Mindless vandalism: the scene outside Croydon Minster yesterday morning

The congregation of Croydon Minster arrived for yesterday’s morning service to discover widespread and wanton destruction of gravestones in the churchyard alongside the building.

Gravestones which had survived the terrible fire which had destroyed much of the medieval church building, or even the worst bombings of the Blitz in World War II, now lay shattered in many pieces, beyond any hope of repair or restoration.

At least 20 headstones had been smashed, the graves desecrated, some which date back nearly 300 years.

The senseless vandalism appears to have been carried out over at least three successive nights.

On three occasions, from last Wednesday (April 12) to Friday (April 14), stones had been pushed over, broken into pieces and the debris left lying around.

David Morgan, iC’s Minster correspondent, said, “Church officials were at a loss as to understand why anyone would destroy gravestones in this way.”

Destroyed: the gravestone to ‘honestman’ John Kennedy, from 1804, is among 20 to have been smashed

The trail of damage is to be removed once representatives of the Diocese have been to the scene as well as the Croydon police, whose task is to discover those responsible.

There has been a church on the site of Croydon Minster for more than one thousand years, going back to Anglo-Saxon times.

What was until recently known as Croydon Parish Church has a long and close association with the Archbishops of Canterbury, who until the late 19th Century spent much of the year living in a nearby palace.

Today, according to Morgan, “The stones which were damaged were moved into their current positions in the late 1950s, when the churchyard was redesigned and the St John’s Memorial Garden created. All the gravestones were relocated at that time, including the war memorial.

“Some stones were laid flat to create paths, while others were stood upright near to the church to create a screen wall. Many of these upright stones were from older burials and date back to the 17th Century.”

Among the stones which have been destroyed was one for John Kennedy, a former quartermaster of “Her Majesty’s Waggon Train” during the Napoleonic Wars who died in 1804. He was described on the headstone as “an honest man”.

Another stone which has been destroyed was that of Alexander Cutting, who died in 1746. The carvings on his gravestone were typical of that era.

Destroyed: the gravestone of Alexander Cutting, from 1746

Steward Baker, a resident of the Great Almshouse, now known as the Whitgift Almshouse, died in 1796. His stone has been pushed out of the earth, cracking the sandstone base.

The Minster is currently awaiting the redevelopment of the area around the church.

This is to be a part of borough-wide improvements planned by the council. The stones that were smashed were to be used in the new scheme.

If anyone has any information about who carried out the destruction, please contact the Metropolitan Police by phoning 101.


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