This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 15 June 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
The village church of St.
Mary's in Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire, has today received £57,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to enable them to start this month on their '3R's Churchyard Project'.
Led by local volunteers, the '3R's Project' will focus on the conservation and restoration of nine architecturally interesting and historically important tombs and the research and recording of details of old village families.
The project will also include the creation of a wildlife garden providing a wide range of habitats for small endangered birds and animals and a new Churchyard Guide enabling visitors to enjoy the historically interesting area around the church. To help ensure the future of the churchyard, the 'Adopt-the Grave' scheme, is seeking volunteers to help maintain this beautiful area. Many of the unique monuments in St.
Mary's Churchyard are in a poor state of repair and, in some cases, are in imminent danger of collapsing. The HLF grant will allow conservation work to start this month and will be completed by September 2016. The restoration work will be undertaken by craftsmen who will use old traditional methods of forging and casting iron and the damaged stonework will be repaired or replaced using locally quarried stone. A local volunteer cameraman will record and follow the renovation process, from the initial site visit and the dismantling of the railings, the forging and making of the new ironwork and visits to the stonemason workshop to document the repairs to the stonework. A significant part of the project will be undertaken by volunteers from the village genealogy group who will research and record information on the many old Hampstead Norreys families who are buried in the churchyard; to discover who they were, where they lived and what impact they had on village life. Commenting on the funding, Sheila Craig, Project Manager from Hampstead Norreys said "We are absolutely thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and we are looking forward to the start of this exciting new project. Without their support these unusual and unique tombs would, undoubtedly, collapse and if that happened a significant part of this beautiful village's long history and heritage would be lost forever. Stuart McLeod, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said: "Churchyards are a fascinating blend of social history and natural heritage, yet are often overlooked and unloved.
We are delighted that, thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to fund this exciting project which will protect both the monuments and the wildlife in the area, and allow local people to explore the history and heritage on their doorstep. "