Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery
| Published: 18th October 2007 13:45 |
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery (FBEC) arose from a deep genuine community interest in maintaining this historic landscaped Victorian Cemetery and which is also a valued green open space within an urban setting.
The objects of The Friends are: to promote for the benefit of the local community and others, the restoration, conservation and respectful enjoyment of Brandwood End Cemetery and Chapels, including monuments, buildings, records, green spaces, adjacent pool and allotments and overall environment.
History of the Cemetery
In 1895, the Kings Norton Rural District Council, which was then outside the boundary of the expanding City of Birmingham, purchased farm land in Brandwood End, Kings Heath, in order to create a new cemetery to cope with the growing population of the area.
As a typical Victorian Cemetery it was beautifully landscaped, and set out with a main tree lined central avenue which was intersected by smaller tree lined cross-drives, creating a grid pattern.
At its highest point stood the twin terracotta brick built Mortuary Chapels; one for Non-Conformists and the other consecrated for the Anglican Church. The central avenue passes directly between the two identical mortuary chapels and beneath the bell tower archway that connects the two buildings.
The management of the cemetery passed from Kings Norton RDC to the City of Birmingham in 1911 as the city extended its boundaries. Further parcels of land were subsequently added to the orginal cemetery until it reached its current size of approximately 54 acres.
Over 83,000 burials have taken place in the cemetery between 1899 and today. Although now closed for new burials, internments still take place in family plots and in the childrens' section.
It remains a beautiful example of the Victorian and Edwardian 'culture of commemoration' and one of the main objectives of The Friends is to assist in maintaining those old values and preserving the commemorative inheritance passed down to us by our 19th century predecessors on into the 21st Century.
Wildlife and Environment
The cemetery was designed by the Victorians, and they with their Edwardian successors, regularly visited the cemetery not only to visit the graves of their loved ones but also to appreciate the quiet tranquility of the landscaped environment.
This appreciation continues today, as to the local community this is our 'open rural space' within our modern urban environment, and for many generations the local community have walked the landscaped cemetery. As with the original Victorians and Edwardians we still appreciate the quiet tranquility and many young mothers still take their children for a walk in their pushchairs or prams through this 'open space'.
The landscape was an extremely important aspect in the designing of a Victorian cemetery, and at Brandwood End there is a mixture of those evergreen and deciduous trees which were popular at that period.
The evergreens are concentrated within the area of the original area of land obtained for the cemetery in 1885, and consists of avenues of Scots pines; cypress trees and Wellingtonia.
For more details, visit the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery website
