Historic church suffers 'incredibly rare' grave collapse, revealing ancient family vault

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An unusual structural failure recently caused a dramatic, sinkhole-like collapse in an historic English churchyard - revealing a 300-year-old family vault.

The hole opened up on Saturday, Nov. 8, at All Saints Church in Martock, Somerset. That was the same weekend the parish observed its Remembrance Sunday services.

Pictures show the collapsed stone box tomb exposing the underground vault in the church's grass-covered yard.

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A box tomb, also called a false crypt, is an above-ground structure that covers a grave, but does not contain remains itself. The destroyed tomb exposed the family vault, though the remains inside were undisturbed.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rev. Paul Fillery, a church official, said the collapse caused "a rather hectic week" for the parish.

"The weight of the box tomb on the weakened ceiling led to the whole thing collapsing through the ceiling of the vault and creating a very large hole," said Fillery. 

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The ancient vault, made of locally mined hamstone and built with stone shelves for each family member's coffin, was sealed once all were laid to rest, he added.

The ornate box tomb was then placed above the ground as "a very grand gravestone," the reverend said.

The vault contains the remains of Rev. Charles Lewis, a local church leader who died in the mid-18th century. 

His wife's remains were also in the vault, as were the remains of five other adult members of the Lewis family.

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Two children were buried in the vault; one died at age 6 and another died as an infant.

"We know this because someone recorded all the graves some years ago and their inscriptions," said Fillery.

Contrary to previous reports, the church official said the cause of the collapse was structural failure, not rainfall or soil erosion. 

He described the incident as "incredibly rare."

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"We have several of these box tombs in the churchyard and the others all seem fine," Fillery said.

He added that restoring the vault and the Grade II-listed tomb will likely cost tens of thousands of pounds, and that the church is accepting donations for the cause.

"The aim will be to repair and restore the vault and the box tomb as much as we can, while paying all respects to the family who have been laid to rest there," Fillery said.

"When it is all done," he added, "I propose holding a brief service at the grave site to commend them once again to God and to a peaceful rest in the days and years to come."