BRISTOL
Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery
The cemetery is managed by Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust under a licence granted by Bristol City Council. The Friends continue to support the Trust by way of fundraising and volunteering.
Opened in 1839, the cemetery now extends over 45 acres and was designed in the style of a Greek necropolis. There are two Doric lodges [one now converted into an office for the Trust], two chapels Ionic and Corinthian plus 25 Grade II Listed memorials.
The Friends came into formation from the Association for the Preservation of Arnos Vale Cemetery in 1987. A very unco-operative owner neglected the cemetery and was envisaging a major unsuitable development of the site but after several years the matter was brought to a head when Bristol City Council made a compulsory purchase order and appointed the Trust to manage the cemetery.
The cremation and burial records are now available for family research and can be accessed via the Trust office.
The cemetery featured in the first series of Restoration the BBC TV programme and whilst not coming first in the viewers' voting the programme resulted in a lot of interest and sympathy for the Trust and the Friends. A substantial HLF award is now enabling the Trust to restore the buildings, some of the listed monuments and some of the landscaped areas. The facilities will be used as staff offices, an education centre and a flexible space for a variety of public uses.
Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust
Bath Road,Bristol BS4 3EW.
Chief Executive: Rachel Thomas
Tel 0117 971 9117 Contact info@arnosvale.org.uk
Website: www.arnosvale.org.uk
Opened in 1839, the cemetery now extends over 45 acres and was designed in the style of a Greek necropolis. There are two Doric lodges [one now converted into an office for the Trust], two chapels Ionic and Corinthian plus 25 Grade II Listed memorials.
The Friends came into formation from the Association for the Preservation of Arnos Vale Cemetery in 1987. A very unco-operative owner neglected the cemetery and was envisaging a major unsuitable development of the site but after several years the matter was brought to a head when Bristol City Council made a compulsory purchase order and appointed the Trust to manage the cemetery.
The cremation and burial records are now available for family research and can be accessed via the Trust office.
The cemetery featured in the first series of Restoration the BBC TV programme and whilst not coming first in the viewers' voting the programme resulted in a lot of interest and sympathy for the Trust and the Friends. A substantial HLF award is now enabling the Trust to restore the buildings, some of the listed monuments and some of the landscaped areas. The facilities will be used as staff offices, an education centre and a flexible space for a variety of public uses.
Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust
Bath Road,Bristol BS4 3EW.
Chief Executive: Rachel Thomas
Tel 0117 971 9117 Contact info@arnosvale.org.uk
Website: www.arnosvale.org.uk
BEDMINSTER
Friends of Hebron Burial Ground
Cemetery at Bedminster, Bristol
send to click here
The group of friends was set up in 2002 following the conversion of Hebron Methodist Church into residential accommodation when it was feared that inappropriate development of the burial area would follow. The owners have left the burial ground in a neglected state despite a restrictive covenant of the land registration. The burial ground lies within a conservation area and is adjacent to the Listed building [the former church]. It is of historic interest and is the burial site of Mary Wilcocks aka Princess Caraboo.