The Cemetery Past & Present

 

This is a lovely video put together by Liz Blades of the Friends Group showing how Dean Road cemetery has changed and developed over the the years. The first thing to notice is what a wonderful spire the Dean Road Chapel had when it was originally built.The chapel was designed and built by Pritchett & Sons of Darlington & York in 1856. Sadly it became unstable and had to be removed in 1972. But how tall and elegant it looked, making a real statement at the time. It is difficult to see on the pictures, but it is a heavy Victorian gothic design with fish tail slates on the roof.

The images highlight the changes in peoples fashions over the years too. How elegant the women’s fashions looked in the Victorian and Edward periods. The images of the people on the iron bridge show this really well, although I bet those dresses took some keeping clean.

There is wonderful collection of trees and shrubs in the cemetery and when Leonard Thompson, the Cemetery Superintendent, designed it he must have had great vision for how it would mature over the years. The images show really well the open aspect of the cemetery when first built and the more interesting aspect now because of the trees.

The mortuary Chapel and Lodge on Manor Road looks very imposing and impressive too. It was built by Frank Tugwell between 1901 and 1902 because that part of the cemetery was seen as a separate cemetery so needed its own chapel. But what a wonderful building, especially now with all the ivy growing over it and those imposing chimneys on the lodge.

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Hello to all our Cemetery Friends and Neighbours

After such a difficult 18 months for everyone, we too were feeling isolated and started having Zoom meetings this year to enable us to keep in touch and plan
for the work and projects we wanted to do. We have had a very productive few months and have lots to tell you.

The biggest impact in the Cemetery is the work the Community Payback Team have undertaken. In Dean Road the last fallen headstone (near the junction of Dean Road and Columbus Ravine) was set back on its plinth and re-gilded in celebration of a project that has taken more than 10 years to complete (left picture below). For all there are still some casualties of headstones with parts missing or too heavy to be moved, the general appearance of Dean Road is wonderful with 100’s of headstones standing proud and very much a testament to the inspiration of Roger Burnett and Sheila Johnson, and the hard work undertaken by the Community Payback Team and Probation Service. Thank you.

The last piece of the jigsaw is the section on either side of the path leading down to the tunnel, in a couple of months they have transformed the area by re-laying the steps, repairing and cleaning headstones, replacing the curbing and the transformation is amazing. (pictures on right above). We are keeping our fingers crossed that this work will carry on into Manor Road Cemetery in 2022 – so watch this space!

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Inspections to check memorial stones for stability

In July Scarborough Borough Council will begin a sensitive audit of memorial stones in Dean Rd and Manor Rd cemeteries to check they are stable and don’t pose a safety risk to people that visit the cemeteries and the staff that work in them. All types of memorials higher than 18 inches (approximately 45.5cm) will be checked for stability. The inspections will be carried out on the councils behalf by a qualified contractor.

A visual test of each memorial will take place to look for cracks, insecure joints and unstable foundations. A gentle hand push test, carried out sensitively, will also be used to identify any movement between the different parts of the memorial. Test results will be recorded. Safe memorials will be flagged for inspection again in five years’ time. Memorials that are recorded unsafe, will immediately be carefully staked and banded to make them safe. A notice will be placed by the memorial stating the reason for staking and who to contact for further information. The contractor will also inform the councils bereavement services team so they can get in touch with the last known grave owner. Only when absolutely necessary will a memorial be laid flat. It is anticipated our contractor will complete his work by the end of March 2023, at the latest.