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22nd March 2022
12:19pm GMT
Credit: SWNS[/caption]
The massive memorial was built in honour of Collins, aka the 'King of Sheffield', a bare-knuckle boxer who passed away at age 49 after collapsing on a family holiday in Majorca in 2020.
A father of nine and well-known among both locals and the nearby traveller community, Collins' grave is said to have cost more than £200,000 to erect, with local stonemasons crafting the multiple facets out of Carrara marble.
However, speaking on March 20, local councillor Executive Member for Sustainable Neighbourhoods, Wellbeing, Parks and Leisure, Alison Teal, warned that Britain's biggest headstone could now be destroyed after being built without proper permission. In her statement - available via Mail Online, she wrote: “All plans for grave memorials should be submitted to the council and must receive approval from Bereavement Services before they are erected. For submissions, applicants must provide several details, including the material and size of the memorial, the proposed inscription and a sketch." She went on to note that all memorials "should be less than 75mm thick and no taller than 1.35m from ground level" - measurements which Big Willy's memorial clearly exceeds. [caption id="attachment_324587" align="alignnone" width="1200"]@missy_collins1x Reply to @art_rockwell ♬ original sound - ???????
Credit: SWNS - Two life-sized statues of the 6'2' boxer flank the grave itself[/caption]
She added that “cemeteries are a place where people can come, pay their respects and visit loved ones who are no longer with us" and that while the council understands "memorials are deeply personal... we must have rules in place to ensure fairness.”
The 'King of Sheffield''s 30-year-old daughter, Mary, who has been posting videos of the enormous gravesite on TikTok, said she isn't worried about the fate of her father's memorial.
“We bought all the plots as it’s a family grave, so we’re not taking over more space than it should be. “My father’s grave is on a hill, so it has to be raised anyway. It’s in line with other headstones..." She went on to remark how the family not only maintain the memorial and even regularly jet wash the road it's on - but even allow visitors to connect to the jukebox's built-in blue tooth speaker so they can play whatever song they like while they pay their respects. While Mary also continues to argue that there are bigger headstones in the same graveyard, Big Willy's may not be there much longer. Collins was himself one of 16 children and as well the nine of kids of his own - and many grandchildren - he is thought to have had around 400 nieces and nephews. [caption id="attachment_324590" align="alignnone" width="1200"]@missy_collins1x Daddy’s headstone at night time ?#foryoupage #biggestmemorialintheworld #kingofsheffield #willycollins☝? ♬ The Man - Aloe Blacc
Credit: SWNS - Hundreds lined the streets for Collins' funeral last year[/caption]
His funeral procession took place in August 2021 as hundreds of mourners lined the streets to pay tribute as his gold-plated casket was taken to the graveyard.
