Rectory Lane Cemetery: From Dead Space to Living Place, the renovation film, Berkhamsted

From Dead Space to Living Place

A film about the regeneration of Rectory Lane Cemetery in Berkhamsted.  James Moir, Convenor and Project Manager talks about the project, the difficulties, achievements and a space that Berkhamsted can be proud of again.

From Dead Space to Living Place:
The Rectory Lane Cemetery renovation

The cemetery had become neglected and overgrown, historic monuments were damaged and it was an uninviting space to visit. In 2013 the Friends of St Peter’s Great Berkhamsted was founded as a registered charity with the aim of “the preservation, repair, maintenance, restoration, improvement and ornamentation of the fabric of the Parish Church of Great Berkhamsted and of the churchyards belonging to it.”

Rectory Lane Cemetery offered great potential as a community green space and heritage asset – it could be revitalised to enhance Berkhamsted’s amenities. In 2014 the Friends launched the Rectory Lane Cemetery Project to restore it, and a team of volunteers set about clearing overgrown weeds and recording the burials. 

After much hard work, the Friends secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund to carry out a major three-year programme from 2019 to 2021 to transform Rectory Lane Cemetery from ‘a dead space to a living place’.
www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk

 

Camera Operator & Editor, Phil Richardson
www.melenfilms.co.uk

Sound Recordist, Ryan Grayley
youtube.com/c/RyanGrayley

Drone Operator, Matt Kay
vimeo.com/squarepixelproductions

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