Volunteers Sought To Clean Up Blaenavon’s Historical Cemeteries
A group of volunteers in Blaenavon is taking on the mammoth task of clearing the overgrown cemeteries at St Peter’s Church and Bethlehem Chapel, and turning them into shared open-spaces for the local community.
Thousands of people have been buried at both sites since they were built in the 1800s, including Blaenavon’s ironmasters and many soldiers who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.
The Blaenavon Town Team has launched a project to find money and volunteers to find a long term way to undertake the maintenance of both cemeteries. It is hoping that residents of the town and others interested in the area’s history, will join them.
Nathan Mathews, a key member of the project team, said: “There are three aims to this project. We want to open up green spaces in the heart of the town for the community to enjoy, and at the same time uncover the graves of generations of Blaenavon residents that have been lost to the undergrowth. Also we want to highlight the history of the people in the graveyard and the part they played in the development of the Town.
“There is a huge amount of work to be done but we are confident that we can achieve this if we work together as a community.”
Revered Rufus Noy of St Peter’s Church said: “These cemeteries have become neglected spaces in the town but they have great potential to become fantastic community resources.
“Not only will the end result be some fantastic open spaces in the heart of the community but uncovering the many graves will help to rebuild the connection between historical Blaenavon and the town as it is today.”
Anyone interested in getting involved in this project can visit the team’s stand at the Blaenavon Spring Fair on Saturday 14 May, or at World Heritage Day on Saturday 26 June. Alternatively they can contact Rod Denley-Jones on 07794 574 572.
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