Call for pet cemetery clean-up
Calls are being made to tidy up a dog cemetery at Himley Park where the Earl of Dudley's hounds are buried. Calls are being made to tidy up a dog cemetery at Himley Park where the Earl of Dudley's hounds are buried. The third Earl, William Humble Eric Ward, who lived at the hall from the turn of the 20th century to the 1940s, was a dog lover and all five of the Alsation pets he owned are buried in the grounds. Rita Martin, from The Broadway, regularly walks her two dogs past the cemetery and said the headstones were covered with weeds. She also said some of them were toppling over. "They are going to ruin and it's such a shame," she said. "Some of the stones are falling over and others are hidden by weeds which I have tried pulling up. "This is our heritage. Once the headstones have been eroded they are lost forever so I would like something done to preserve them." Read the full story in the Express & Star.
The third Earl, William Humble Eric Ward, who lived at the hall from the turn of the 20th century to the 1940s, was a dog lover and all five of the Alsation pets he owned are buried in the grounds.
Rita Martin, from The Broadway, regularly walks her two dogs past the cemetery and said the headstones were covered with weeds.
She also said some of them were toppling over. "They are going to ruin and it's such a shame," she said.
"Some of the stones are falling over and others are hidden by weeds which I have tried pulling up.
"This is our heritage. Once the headstones have been eroded they are lost forever so I would like something done to preserve them."
Park warden Alan Peace said the graves were in woodland about 200 metres from the hall. He said there were only two staff tending to 184 acres of grounds.
"When I first came here it took me several weeks to find the cemetery and it was completely overgrown," said Mr Peace. "We created a path leading up to the graves and built a fence around it to make a feature of it.
"We tend to them as much as is practical and do the best we can with the resources available."
Each of the graves bears the name of the dog and the date and includes: Faithful Tige 1911-1926, Wolf 1922-1934, Maggie 1923-1936, Faithful Will 1924-1929 and Rennel 1934-1943.
Mr Peace added: "The cemetery does have a fascinating history.
"For example, one of the dogs called Wolf was originally buried in front of the stable block when the Earl was away. On his return he gave orders for the animal to be dug up and buried in the cemetery.
"When I do talks about Himley I refer to the graves and if I do guided walks I show visitors the spot."
