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Death Deco Style

At the northern end of section M1 of Stretford cemetery is an unusual group of memorials, or rather, a group which includes three unusual memorials. Set alongside three traditional crosses and an unremarkable 'slab', their design loudly shouts "Art Deco!".

Prevailing fashions have ever been reflected in the design of graveyard memorials, but it is quite uncommon to find memorials which display the deco style quite so enthusiastically. That is not to say that the fashion did not influence headstone design. headstones erected between the late 1920s and well into the 1940s are often more decidedly geometrical in design but rarely is the style exhibited in an uninhibited way as, for example, in buildings of the period.

Gravestones and graveyard memorials began to appear in any quantity towards the end of the 17th century. These early memorials were generally plain slabs with simple inscriptions recording brief details of those buried beneath. Memorials became more ornate through the eighteenth century, though still showed a great degree of restraint in their overall style, a relatively plain rectangular slab remaining the most common form, perhaps with carved "framing" and the addition of a separate curved or triangular pediment to give them a more substantial presence.

The nineteenth century saw rapid and considerable change. The "celebration" of death became increasingly complex and elaborate as the century progressed. Mourning became a highly formalised custom. Funerals, at least funerals for the more prosperous, became demonstrations of sorrow. Black dress became de rigueur, coffins more decorative, hearses were drawn by teams of black horses and the undertakers might be accompanied by 'mutes', sombre-faced men, dressed in black and carrying black draped poles. This increased focus on what we might describe as "funeral paraphernalia", also extended into the styles of the memorials erected to mark the grave and commemorate the deceased.

Alongside the Gothic Revival in architecture, memorials began to exhibit features of the 'Gothic' style. The basic shape of the' headstone reflected the pointed Gothic arch and this could be elaborated by the addition of borders, mouldings, crockets and finials. As the century progressed, the influence of the 'arts and crafts' movement was felt. The 'rustic' memorial became more popular, with (still Gothic) headstones carved to appear to be framed in logs or the traditional headstone replaced by large stones carved to resemble tree stumps or piles of stones. Finally, as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, the sinuous lines of the art nouveau style began to appear, with floral motifs appearing in the decoration.

In the 1920s, the style which today we call art deco (though it would not acquire this name until the 1960s; at the time it was commonly referred to as moderne) began to influence memorial design. The style emerged in Europe, where it became very popular. In England it was less enthusiastically received, though still left its mark. The impact on graveyard memorial design was better described as an influence and extended, mostly, little further than the adoption of more geometric headstone shapes. This is at its most marked in the ziggurat shape, with the top of the headstone cut into two, three, or occasionally four, steps. Art deco design makes frequent use of particular motifs, in particular sunbursts, stream-lines, lightning flashes, fans and stylised wings. These motifs appear on buildings, fabrics, ceramics and countless decorative items. however, they appear infrequently on graveyard memorials.

The memorials at Stretford are unusual in their enthusiastic adoption of the deco style with little reservation. The forms of two are reminiscent of a New York skyscraper - tall, narrow and tapering. One adopts the ziggurat and the other displays a magnificent pair of stylised wings, both on the front and on the back. A third memorial shows the same 'skyscraper' shape, finishing in a ziggurat. In this last example, either the mason or, perhaps more likely the client, has developed "cold feet" and topped the memorial with an urn, which would not have been out of place on a memorial from nearly a century earlier.

We will probably never see their like again. Cemetery managers now impose tight restrictions on the size and shape of memorials which would preclude such impressive and innovative designs. Headstones have become more standardised in size and shape with limited individuality. Perhaps the greatest innovation in recent years is the addition of photographs of the deceased, this may, at least, Provide a bonus for tomorrow's family historians.

 

 

 

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