No space for Sid

Samuel 'Sid' Hardwick longed to be laid to rest among the graves he dug in Woolhope.

But a lack of space meant he was buried in Hereford - the place where he died, aged 79.

Margaret Hardwick, married to Sid for 47 years, said the decision to bury him at the city's Westfaling Street cemetery made no sense at all.

"It was one of his dying wishes to be buried alongside his family at Woolhope and to deny him that feels very wrong and most un-Christian," she said.

"I was already upset after losing my husband but then to be told I could not bury him in his chosen place made it even worse."

"I felt angry, upset and guilty I had let him down and not carried out his wishes."

Having been born in Checkley, Margaret says Sid was a popular character in the villages and hamlets surrounding Haugh Wood and an authentic 'Woolhopian'. But, as he lost his sight and hearing, the couple moved to Hereford and remained on the College Estate, where he died earlier this month.

Parish rector for Woolhope the Rev William Pridie said Mr Hardwick had died in Hereford and that was why he could not be buried in his native village, nor neighbouring Fownhope.

Foreign soil

"The Parochial Church Council had to make the horrible decision of limiting the number of burials to those who died in the village," he said.

"We are trying to be as accommodating as possible, but as space is in short supply across the diocese, we have to limit the number of burials to those who have died in the village."

"We are looking at the possibility of pulling down some trees on the churchyard at Woolhope, so hopefully more room will be created," he added.

The news of extra spaces will do little to comfort Mrs Hardwick, who is also facing the prospect of a burial on 'foreign soil'.

"I always wanted to be buried in Woolhope too, but now my husband is in Hereford, I will have to stay in the city with him," she added.