Master carvers say mass production of their bespoke work is a growing concern and upsetting for bereaved families. A walk down a churchyard path, passing other memorials and plaques, can be an important, meditative time for bereaved relatives. But some have had an unpleasant surprise when they find that the carefully chosen design and inscription on the headstone they have come to visit has been copied elsewhere.
![[A tree of life headstone designed by Teucer Wilson]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/45d6cef25b5af7839cd7bf7299db995373edc8ba/0_68_1996_2494/master/1996.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“When a design is copied, it is not just your design but your time and your creativity that is stolen,” said Teucer Wilson, a master stone carver. “You can try to see it as a compliment to your work in a way, of course, but it can be very upsetting for the family that you originally worked with.”.
![[A design by Wilson at Creake Abbey, Norfolk]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7ef239e564aa9f06a3d1792fda6d18c1d69dbf2f/395_374_3630_2178/master/3630.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Seeing a gravestone as a work of art, protected by copyright, is often hard for those who are making a significant and emotional decision about how to commemorate a life. But for the craftspeople who make a living by designing and carving stones on commission, it is a growing concern.
Wilson has experienced a string of recent incidents that appear to have disregarded his copyright. “I made a memorial in Ireland that was very personal because the design, a swirling interlocking knot, was based on a ring that the daughter had been given by her deceased mother. The headstone I made was a bit like a giant pebble on the ground. It went into a cemetery in Kilkenny and then, only two months later, a blatant copy appeared nearby in the graveyard. The daughter sent me the photo,” he said.
