Category: Events

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDWOOD END !

Saturday 13th April 2024 will be the 125th anniversary of the opening of Brandwood End Cemetery.

The Cemetery

A Brief History

On 13 April 1899 George Tallis, Chairman of the Cemetery Committee, opened Brandwood End Cemetery, which was administered by Kings Norton Rural District Council. With the extension of Birmingham’s boundaries in 1911, the cemetery came under the administration of the Birmingham City Corporation. The cemetery was gradually extended over the years and is now some 53 acres, 2 of which were sold in 1919 to the Jewish Community. A portion of this small fenced area is now a burial area for Muslim members of the local community.

The grounds are a fine example of a Victorian landscaped cemetery with avenues of Scots Pine, Cypress and Wellingtonia. This magnificent planting earned the cemetery a Grade II listing in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England in 2001.

The cemetery has Gothic style mortuary chapels, which were added to the statutory list of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest in 1997.

Happy Birthday Brandwood End !

FBEC AGM 2024

Today the Friends held their 19th annual AGM. Where has that time gone?

What a lovely morning with some of our supporters. It was made even better by cake and coffee (Provided by Vice Chairman Coral)  with a chance to chat and also a chance to thank members and everyone that supports us.

Our committee members are now:-

Chairman             Julia Griffin

Vice Chairman    Coral Howard

Secretary              Jane Edwards

Treasurer             Julian Pritchard

Philip Brown, Gill Price, Tricia Winspur, Lisa Fair and observer Malcolm Jacques. (Some of our committee members appear in the lead photograph. )

We have had a very busy year and trust that this will continue into what will next be our 20th anniversary AGM.

 

Hard work, but lots of achieved.

We had a great turn out today for our ‘Grave Gardeners’ session. Volunteers drawn from several of our supporting groups , regular volunteers and some new recruits worked from 12 noon till 3pm and cleared a large area on the main drive of small Holly self setters. This was an area that we cleared larger plants from about 5 years ago but smaller saplings had begun to take over again.

After a quick tea break we carried on along the Broad Lane side of the cemetery, removing ground level brambles that were threatening to engulf or young Cherry Trees, taking extra care not to venture near any areas that might hide nesting birds. Our next date should be Saturday 13th April but watch this page for more details.

 

Grave Gardeners Session

FINAL REMINDER, SATURDAY 30TH MARCH 1pm-3pm- This Saturday the 30th March we will be holding a Gardening Session to try and clear some more Brambles and self set Holly in the Cemetery. Unlike our usual sessions that target large areas of mature Holly and Ivy, we are concentrating on areas where we represent no risk of disturbing nesting birds.

We will meet at the Cross of Sacrifice at 1pm and helpers are free to spend as much or as little time as they wish on site but we will be completing our work by 3pm to allow for the closing of the site at 4pm. We have the tools and some heavy duty gloves but would advise that you wear heavy duty footwear and warm clothing. We will be moving away from the area of the Cross but should be visible in our High Viz. If we are not there, try turning left at the WW1 memorial, passing the fenced area and looking to your right.(Section 38RC)

This map may help.

AGM 2024

The Friends are ’19’ this year and we will be holding our usual AGM but this year it will be back to an old venue as the Lodge at Brandwood End is out of use.

THURSDAY 11TH APRIL THE CONFERENCE ROOM , ST DUNSTANS CHURCH, KINGS HEATH.B14 7JN

10.30 start– Usually the AGM lasts about 20 minutes and then the committee are available to chat and answer your questions.

(This is best accessed on foot from Kingsfield road opposite All Saints Church. Parking is available in Institute Road but there is a charge. The 50 bus and several others stop nearby on the High Street.)

Anyone with an interest is most welcome and we usually end with cake and tea/coffee !!

Grave Gardeners session

We will be running another Grave Gardeners session to remove some Brambles that are choking some young trees and also some small Holly self setters in the cemetery.

 

The Friends and volunteers will be on site from 12 noon till approx. 3 pm on Saturday March 30th. Meet by the Cross of Sacrifice on the main drive. You are welcome to pop in at any time but if it is after 12 noon you may have to search for our ‘A’ frame as we will be disbursed around the cemetery.  Most people arrive at the start but only stay as long as they want and do as much or little as suits them.

Hope to see a few of you there. We have the tools, although you are welcome to bring your own. Rakes, brooms, secateurs and loppers always welcome. We also have some heavy duty gloves, but again you may prefer to bring your own.

Victims Remembered.

Many of our followers will be familiar with the Civilian Garden of Remembrance in Brandwood End but not so many of you will realise that this is the final resting place of close to sixty civilians who lost their lives during local bombing raids in 1940/41.

The names of those buried here are listed in a book of Remembrance held at King’s Norton but not recorded anywhere in the cemetery.

The Friends gave been working with a local Stonemason to create a Memorial in the Civilian Garden listing their names.

We hope by this summer we will have raised the funds and the memorial will be installed. Please watch our site for further information.

 

 

Volunteers keeping sites going.

Birmingham Open Spaces Forum, who collate the hours and tasks undertaken by Birmingham’s volunteers, have published their annual summary of work undertaken.

When you consider the financial position that Birmingham Council find themselves in, it really shows how much effort and time volunteers are putting in to shore up parks, cemeteries and other sites around the City. Without supervision and support by Park Rangers, Neighbourhood Action
Co-ordinators  and BOSF, much of this work would not have been possible.
Lets hope Birmingham Council understand the importance of maintaining the roles mentioned above because they are going to have to rely on volunteer services more and more.