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 

The Victorians loved the giant Wellingtonia trees because of their impressive size. They were planted in many gardens as specimen trees, and in rows creating Wellingtonia avenues.

Introduced by the plant hunter William Lobb in about 1854, the naming of the tree caused an international row between Britain and America. In Britain the tree was named Wellingtonia gigantea after the Duke of Wellington, who died in 1852. Yet the Americans wanted to call it Washingtonia, after the first US President George Washington.

After years of dispute, it was finally named Sequoiadendron giganteum because of its similarity to the Californian redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).

You can learn more about the plants which the Victorians enjoyed on the BBC Garden website by following the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/nonflash_victorian4.shtml

The deciduous planting included: Horse chesnut, Beech, Hornbeam and Poplar trees, which were added to the existing Oak trees growing on the original farm land.

This landscape is now the home to many species of animals and birds such as: foxes, dormice, squirrels, bats, woodpeckers, owls and many insects and butterflies.

The Friends will be putting up bat nesting boxes and bird nesting boxes to assist in preserving these species for the future.

Brandwood Pool

Lying directly adjacent to the cemetery is Brandwood Pool, which is another valued open site within Brandwood End.  The Pool has its own Pool Committee which has a representative sitting on the FBEC Executive Committee.

Their expertise in preserving the natural environment and wildlife will greatly assist within the area of the cemetery. 

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