Restored headstone of asylum patient 'stands proud'

Herbert Mackie was sent to the asylum after his mental health deteriorated following an assault

Volunteers who look after a cemetery have thanked a local business for their "extraordinary gesture of kindness" after they fixed a damaged headstone.

The memorial stone for Herbert Mackie at Mendip Hospital Cemetery in Wells was accidentally toppled a year ago.

The graveyard, maintained by Friends of Mendip Hospital Cemetery, is the final resting place for nearly 3,000 people who were patients and staff at the old Somerset and Bath Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

Phil Curnow, from Adams Memorials of Cheddar, said he decided to fix the gravestone for free because "the cemetery is run by volunteers".

The memorial stone for Herbert Mackie was accidentally damaged a year ago

The cemetery opened in 1874 as the burial ground of the Somerset and Bath Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which later became the Mendip Hospital.

Most of the graves in the cemetery are marked with a numbered metal post.

Herbert Mackie, from Castle Cary, was sent to the asylum when his mental health deteriorated after being knocked from his bicycle and assaulted.

He died in 1910 aged 33.

Clare Blackmore, a trustee of Friends of Mendip Hospital Cemetery, said: "He's one one of the very few that has a headstone because he was a private patient."

She added: "It's important to maintain the site and give them dignity in death that they didn't have in life."

Martin Adams and Phil Curnow restored the damaged headstone for free

Mr Curnow said fixing the memorial stone was like putting together "a little jigsaw".

"We just sort of dressed the stone a little bit, got rid of all of the loose parts and all the dirt and then just used a chemical resin to bind it back together," he added.

"It was a relatively clean break."

Ms Blackmore said Mr Mackie's gravestone "now stands proud, and it does Herbert proud."