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Introduction
Birmingham Conservation Trust has entered into a new partnership with the Bereavements Department at Birmingham City Council and another charity, the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery.
Together we intend to identify a future for the Mortuary Chapels which form the centre piece of the Victorian designed cemetery at Brandwood End in south Birmingham.
The twin chapels were designed by Mr J. Brewin Holmes,
a Birmingham architect, and built in the Gothic style
from red brick and terracotta. The eastern most mortuary
chapel was for Non-conformists and its partner consecrated
for Anglican services.
Both mirror each other, containing a chancel, coffin chamber, vestry and an underground heating chamber. They are linked by a carriage entrance archway, which is surmounted by a tower and spire.
The cemetery itself has a grade 2 listing in the English
Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens. The chapels
are grade 2 listed. One has been badly damaged by fire,
making both unsafe to use.
Community Efforts to save the Chapels
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery first met in
July 2005 and since then have managed to raise money
to help secure the buildings. This has allowed work
to board up and fence the buildings, which was carried
out at the end of 2006. The friends have restored other
parts of the cemetery and improved the experience for
visitors.
The next step is a full conservation survey of the
buildings to establish what work needs to be done, its likely cost and options
for using the buildings. It is this expertise
which Birmingham Conservation Trust will bring to the
partnership.Funding has to be raised to carry out this
work.
It comes at a time when the role of cemeteries is
evolving. Brandwood End has already stopped taking
new burials, other than in existing family plots. Increasingly
cemeteries are being understood for the part they play
as parks and open space in our cities.
Friends
of Brandwood End cemetery
Listen
to a podcast on the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery
Bereavment
Services - Birmingham City Council
Birmingham Open Spaces Forum
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