Shrewsbury's famous 'Scrooge gravestone' smashed by vandals 'starts its repair journey'

The landmark visitor attraction was smashed to pieces over the weekend in a mindless act which has shocked people across the town, and further afield.

Now, Shrewsbury Town Council's clerk, Helen Ball, has offered an update on plans to restore the stone.

She confirmed that Midland Masonry will be taking on the task - and was generously doing so for free.

She added that the council had been 'overwhelmed' at the level of interest and support following the shocking incident.

Writing on social media she said: "I am delighted to report that Scrooge's gravestone will start its repair journey today.

"Midland Masonry who look after a lot of Shrewsbury Town Council structures will be doing the work and help to preserve it for the future.

"We have been overwhelmed by the level of interest in Scrooge's headstone with local, national and international interest.

"I am thankful to the Lichfield Diocese for fast-tracking my faculty request and grateful thanks to the Archdeacon and Revd Sam Mann at St Chad's."

Expanding on the situation to the Shropshire Star, Mrs Ball said they had received a number of offers of help but had opted for Midland Masonry, which has been responsible for carrying out work for the council in a number of areas across the town - including St Chad's, the Quarry, the town's war memorials, and the Dingle.

She said: "So we have got confidence they can do the work and do it well. It is not about fixing it, it is about preserving it for the future."

She explained that the work would see the firm dig out about six inches into the ground, before putting down a concrete layer and fixing the stone to that layer.

She said: "It is about preserving it and it will show the cracks but we don't want to get a new one, this one has the history, the story, that comes with the original."

Mrs Ball thanked both Midland Masonry and the Lichfield Diocese for making the work possible so quickly.

She said: "We are most grateful to Midland Masonry and want to say thank you to the diocese for being so helpful and rushing it through because otherwise we would not be able to to it before Christmas."

Mrs Ball also revealed that there had been scores of offers to help pay for the repairs from across the country - including one man who had offered to pay for all of it.

She said: "It is testimony to what people feel about the headstone. We have had loads of people who said 'we are masons, we can come and help'.

"And we have had a lot of people from across the country who said if 'it is going to cost, we want to contribute'.

"We had one man who had come as a tourist from Newbury who offered to pay for it in its entirety.

"The son of the producer of the film also contacted us to say his father was always proud that it had stayed there and would have been devastated by what happened.

"It has been quite humbling having so many messages."

Police yesterday said they had narrowed down a timeframe in the hunt for those responsible for the vandalism of the stone, which was used as a prop in the 1984 film version of 'A Christmas Carol'.

PC Jono Lightfoot, one of the officers investigating the “mindless” vandalism, has said information from the public had helped narrow down a time when the offence is believed to have happened.

“I am appealing for witnesses after the grave of Ebenezer Scrooge in Shrewsbury was destroyed,” he said.

“The vandalism is believed to have happened on Saturday evening (November 23) where the headstone belonging to the fictional character has been broken.

“The grave, which is located at St Chad’s Church in Claremont Hill, was used as a prop in 1980s film A Christmas Carol.

“Once filming was completed the inscribed stone used as Ebenezer Scrooge’s grave remained in the church grounds and has since become a popular tourist attraction within the town.

“After some new helpful information we are now able to narrow down the timeframe. We can now make a fresh appeal to anyone who was in the area between the hours of 6.30pm and 11.50pm on Saturday and witnessed any unusual behaviour, please get in touch as it may help with our enquiries.

“You can contact me by emailing on jono.lightfoot@westmercia.police.uk quoting incident number 288i of November 24, 2024.

“Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers. It is 100 per cent anonymous, they never ask your name, and they cannot trace your call or IP address. You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.”