St Mary's churchyard in Painswick is famous for its collection of some 230 tombs, mostly dating from the eighteenth century. These are usually referred to as "table tombs" although they come in many different forms. Taken together, they form a remarkable resource of local history and architectural quality. There have been efforts to catalogue and record the tombs in the past and a remarkable collection of photographs and measured drawings dating from the early twentieth century has recently come to light. Meanwhile, the tombs are in many cases in a poor condition, and work is needed to arrest their decay. The project seeks to deal with the most urgent repair work, and at the same time to catalogue and analyse the photographic and drawn record, and to make the whole heritage of these tombs more widely known and enjoyed.

The aim of the work is to change the appearance of the churchyard as little as possible. As you wander round, you may have difficulty spotting those tombstones which have already been conserved; we have not sought to smarten them or level them or replace decaying carving. However, with careful observation, you may spot cracks which have been filled with lime mortar.

The main work has been to replace the iron cramps (like giant 6 inch staples - see photo above - which hold the tombs together across the corners under the lids) and to replace lost mortar in cracks between the stonework to stop water getting inside. As the iron cramps have rusted, they have expanded and cracked the stone. You can see evidence of this on many tombstones in the churchyard at the corners just under the lid. Their replacement with stainless steel cramps embedded in lead in traditional manner are invisible.