The faithful put country churchyard on road to resurrection

But in recent years the words Health And Safety have been more on worshippers' minds as more and more of the gravestones at Aysgarth Church in Richmondshire have been laid flat because of fears they might topple and injure someone.

Now the congregation could lead the way in replanting the slabs using techniques used in the 19th century, which have turned out to be sounder than modern methods.

The ancient burial spot is one of the many policed by local authority "topple testers" because of tragic accidents involving unstable memorials.

Harrogate Council alone had 6,000 potentially unsafe slabs placed on the ground after six-year-old Reuben Powell died when a 100-year-old gravestone fell on him in Grove Road Cemetery in July 2000.

Aysgarth is the final resting place for generations of families from the two medieval parishes of Aysgarth and Wensley, since it predates the building of at least four other churches in the area.

Aysgarth church itself was rebuilt in 1866 because the walls were falling down. But there has been a place of worship on the site for at least 1,000 years and the churchyard itself is of ancient origin.

At over four and a half acres, Aysgarth churchyard is also one of the largest in the country and has 942 inscribed gravestones and many unmarked tombs.

A spot of initial digging revealed the churchyard was even fuller than first thought. Under the 19th century headstones were found fragments of older memorials, probably from a deeper layer of plots dating from the previous century.

No one disputes that after tragedies such as the one at Harrogate, something needed to be done to ensure the old stones did not claim any more lives.

But the congregation at Aysgarth believe that until now worshippers have not fully appreciated how cheap and easy it is to replant the stones, using methods that should ensure they never become dangerous again.

Aysgarth churchyard is officially closed and maintained by the district council. But there are still burials because people bought plots and wanted to be laid to rest near their ancestors.

"So when you have got a funeral going on people are standing among deceased family members and if stones are laid flat it grieves the family," said worshipper Pip Land.

Three local families requested help with raising gravestones. So worshipper Alastair Dinsdale, who farms at Carperby in Upper Wensleydale, looked into how the job could be done.

His research underlined that many of the problems to do with the stones happened after limestone mortar or cement was used to fix them into place.

Over time the fixing degraded, making the stone wobbly and dangerous. But stones which had been secured by the older method of digging a trench, filling it with gravel and battering the stone in were still solid as a rock.

Now the congregation plans to "raise" the first seven stones and secure them using this 19th century technique by the end of summer.

If successful, it could point the way to similar initiatives all over the country to restore churchyards to how they looked before the regime of topple testing.

Meetings with Richmondshire District Council have already taken place with Mr Dinsdale arguing that toppled stones created the appearance of dereliction in the churchyard.

He said: "If they are left face upwards the water and ice gets into the inscriptions and damages them. We plan to re-erect them in the proper manner."

ONE IN NINE CHURCH BUILDINGS AT RISK

Around one in nine listed places of worship in England is in a poor or very bad condition, according to a survey published today.

English Heritage said that 11 per cent of places of worship are potentially at risk because of their poor or very bad physical condition – but 89 per cent are in good or "fair" condition.

The conservation body said the survey results were better than had been feared and were a "huge testament" to the hard work and altruism of congregations.

Chief executive Dr Simon Thurley urged places of worship to take a "stitch in time" approach to repairs.

He said: ""Don't be put off by what might seem like an impossible challenge – the key is to do small things really well ... clearing gutters could save the need for a whole new roof or renewing damp walls at a cost of thousands of pounds."

The survey showed rural listed places of worship were more likely to be at risk than urban ones.