newsletter p2

THE RESTORATION PLAN

Restoration of the chapel would incorporate ramped disability access to a door on one side.
Inside there would be space for tables and seating for study groups, and would include a toilet, small kitchen and store against the rear wall, with a balconied gallery space above.

We envisage the chapel as a place for displays of local interest, especially about local history and the people buried here. It would have the required facilities to enable school visits, and could display project work done by children.

It could also be hired out for meetings and to local groups while, for our purposes, it would provide a much-needed place volunteers could shelter and have a cup of tea.

The capital cost of building work has been estimated at current rates at Ł105,400.00.

However, funding would depend on a broader package of work including improvements to the cemetery itself (for another Ł15,000) and effective ongoing management by Calderdale Council in partnership with the Friends as described in the report.
It would need to be offering professionally produced and attractive opportunities to learn about local heritage for an inclusive public.
Public interest would have to be demonstrated as sustainable. Your letters of support for the cemetery would be useful as added proof of that interest.

Address to the Friends c/o 1 Savile Row. HX1 2EJ. Or email.

In the areas coloured grey to the west of the cemetery, where the graves are built on vaults, many are topped with urns and spires. A considerable number have been replaced and fixed during the last couple of years. More repairs are needed here and there, as well as filling collapsing holes.

On the green areas, to the right, grass and weeds need to be mowed periodically to maintain the appearance, and keep graves accessible.

Invasive Japanese Knotweed is sprayed every year, and being gradually reduced. The path round the perimeter is cut twice a year. Brambles have been cut in the South East corner, revealing graves that haven’t been seen for years.

While we aim to keep a number of trees, plant more in carefully chosen places, and to retain a wild area at the lower end, the cemetery has become a more open and accessible place to visit.
The Friends Group does urgently need funds to continue both as a working and a pressure group. Please help in any way you can.