Can anyone tell me what happened to this grave?

I don't know, but, maybe you could research deaths in the area through newspapers (old) at the library or internet. Good luck on your quest! I love a good mystery.

a reply to: TheUsersName

Good work in calling them

Churches keep maps of all the plots and grave numbers. Perhaps if you call them again, they could check their records properly? Maybe the reverend wasn't motivated enough to really check?

Limestone and sandstone aren't always the same quality. I wonder if the gravestone could be a soft example that's eroded more than others? It's quite hard to form a strong opinion from the image.

a reply to: TheUsersName

Was there writing on the head stone ?

a reply to: TheUsersName
www.britainfromabove.org.uk...
It looks as if the inscription has been erased by repeatedly scraping away a few flakes. easily done without detection when you consider how one could find an unobserved few seconds or minutes repeatedly over a period of time. I've seen masonic graves with a metal insert in the approximate position of the hole.

Looks like weathering to me..

Guys, I want to try this out too. Any suggestions from the experienced ones?

Maybe it was a someone who was found dead around that town and no one knew who he was. Probably a stranger and they decided to give him a proper burial. An unmarked grave...

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Looks like weathering to me..

Funny, to me that shadow looks like the outline of the Monopoly Banker or Railroad baron. Of course the hole, well maybe there was a close range shotgun blast (not a lot of scatter) or something.

Otherwise, I am stumped.

a reply to: noeltrotsky

A lot of catholic cemetaries will not bury suicides either because it is a mortal sin. They usually have to be buried in a coommunity cemetary. It is interesting it seems it was intentionally destroyed after the fact. Can you check old newspapers at a historical society to see if anything is mentioned about someone falling out of favor after their death?

originally posted by: TheUsersName
Anyway when I was standing at the bottom of the graveyard the other night I seen that a little closer to the church there was actually a fair bit of space still available I just found it a little odd as you cant help but walk over people the graves are so tightly squeezed.

If the cemetery is that old there is no space there, there are simply stones no longer present. Just because there are spaces where there are no stones does not mean there are no graves. Tending of graves is usually only done by those who knew them, for a long time that would have been one generation, and this has only changed in the last century because more people now get know their grandparents.

Once a stone is damaged and broken, and no longer has visible markings, it's likely to be removed.

Depending on the location and time period, many might not have even had grave markers, if they were too poor for instance. There are probably a lot of communal plots there, unmarked, for those whose families could not afford a marker. I believe this is actually quite common before the late 19th century.

This marker could simply be a communal one, kind of placeholder for unnamed individuals. I doubt the stone had been defaced in that way, it's more plausible that this was designed in this way for whatever reason. I believe there are designs going back centuries with holes in them, just as there are different forms of engraving etc.

The stone itself could be imperfect, and had an inclusion of softer material, which could allow the erosion, I guess. It is just that the location and size of the hollowed out area do look like it was purposely done.