The second half of our beautiful avenue of Redwoods is getting a little TLC with its lower branches being removed or trimmed. Long overdue but very welcome.
Category: Environment
Reminder – Remembrance Service this Sunday
Final reminder that the Remembrance Service in Brandwood End Cemetery will start at 10.50am prompt and be followed by 2 minutes silence and the laying of wreaths. Everyone welcome.
At last….. temporary roof is being installed!
When I arrived back from holiday this afternoon I could hear the strange sound of ‘nail guns’ coming from the cemetery , so I dashed straight round in the hope that the roof trusses (that were delivered a couple of weeks ago) may be in position….and they were!
The Roofers are working hard installing the timber frame and then hopefully it will be boarded, felted and a outer surface applied.
Can we stress that this is a temporary roof and in place to protect the structure of the building, not to renovate it.
Never the less, this is a day that the Friends have been working towards for over 10 years as it represents a step in the right direction, to prevent the dereliction of this building reaching a state that would make it uneconomic to renovate.
We still have a number of major stumbling blocks before we can agree that the initial aims of our group, to see the chapels renovated and in use, are realised. One of these is a viable solution as to how this building, if renovated, can earn its keep in the future. The chapels, as they were, are no longer required for use alongside funerals but restrictions on access make their use for many suggestions not acceptable.
Birmingham City Council and the Friends will continue to try and find a solution to these issues as we are all in agreement that the loss of such a beautiful building would be a crime.
Up on the roof….something stirs!!
Guess what we spotted …..these roof trusses, leaning on the gable ends of the chapel. It was agreed some time ago, following a safety inspection, that a temporary roof needed to be fitted to the roofless chapel.
There has been a long delay as the design of the temporary roof had to be agreed with planning because the building and cemetery are Grade 2 listed.
At this time we have no idea what the ‘temporary’ roof will look like but our main concern is that it is in place before the adverse weather really sets in. Maybe one step forward?
Chapels on ‘At Risk’ Register.
The Friends have tried several times to get the Victorian Chapels in Brandwood End included in the Victorian Society ‘At Risk’ register and it appears we have at last been successful. As yet we have received no official notification (not sure that we will !) but an article will appear in tomorrows Birmingham Post saying that we have been added, along with a large factory in the Black Country. You can follow the article below, and whilst there are some funding inaccuracies in the reporting, we are really pleased that The Post has decided to highlight this.
At this time we are not sure if this listing will add weight to our constant requests to Birmingham City Council to move forward, alongside the Friends, and apply for grant funding to bring this building back into acceptable condition. This will also involve work to find a sustainable future use- thus ensuring this beautiful buildings future.
The Victorian Society web site also carries this news-
Cemetery roadway clean up
We popped into the cemetery on the day before our Heritage Open event, just to make sure all was spic and span and were pleased to see the road sweeper clearing leaves that have already fallen ! We couldn’t resist taking a few extra photographs in the morning light.
A beautiful Victorian Cemetery?
Christmas is a coming…….
We hate to remind everyone, but thoughts of Christmas will soon occupy many peoples minds. Can we remind you that if you will be buying anything from Amazon you can help FBEC !
On this page, at the top- to the right, is a square marked Amazon Books, shop now. If you click on this it will link to the Amazon site. It costs you nothing….except an extra click, but FBEC will receive a small donation from Amazon ! Please go via our site to Amazon and help the Friends.
Hedge trimmed in time for next weeks Heritage Event.
Despite being cut back hard a few months ago, the hedge surrounding the small Commonwealth War Grave area had developed a some what wild look.
We have given it a very quick top cut to make it look tidy in readiness for our Heritage Open Event next Saturday the 8th, but it will have to wait till much later in the year for another good cut back . Its great to see this young hedge thriving!
Officially ‘Autumn’ Litter Pick !
Five of the Friends today enjoyed the sunshine whilst collecting seven….and a half bags of litter from within the cemetery. Most of it came from 2 spots on the boundary and generally we found that there was very little litter and what there was consisted mainly of flower paper and various items that had been blown off graves. Our thanks again to the same few who turn up time and time again to help keep the cemetery looking tidy.
Can we ask you again, that if you place silk flowers on a grave can you please make sure they are well secured- and can you remove paper from fresh flowers, as when they die the paper just blows about in the wind.
A word of warning to members!
It appears there has been a resurgence of the previous spate of e mails being sent to you from ‘addressees’ you know, that are in fact spam. Please take care. FBEC will only e mail you with information about our AGM/Newsletters/Special events. We will always use a strap line clearly showing one of these and our name. We only e mail members who have given their consent to receive the above information via e mail and we still offer the facility to post AGM/Newsletter information as we know some of our members prefer this method.
This very annoying ‘spam’ practice was prolific, but did seem to have died down. Always check that the e mail address the mail comes from is actually what it should be and not a very close fake! Never open attachments unless you are expecting them.
Usually, if it goes into your ‘spam folder’…….it should be there!!
KEEP SAFE- and just a little postcard to highlight the changes on the main drive of the cemetery over the years!
