W
Wendy
Guest
Oliver Baker, R.E. R.C.A. I thought the last may be Royal College of Art any more suggestions?
Well Polly thank goodness for the volunteers who help and I include you and Richard in this and now I know your family history there is even more reason to help.Wendy, I shall look forward to seeing a photo of the headstone.
The amount of talented/well known people that are found buried in key Hill amazes me - it is a disgrace the council didn't look after the cemetery better.
Polly
Polly, it's not a disgrace, it is just regrettable. It happens all over England,not just in Birmingham. When I first set up the Friends of Key Hill Cemetery, I had monthly meetings with the Council, which eventually became two or three monthly meetings. I got to know a lot that the general public at large do not realise. Bereavement Services get a very very small budget. I guess one could put it as which is the most important, refuse collection or maintenance of closed cemeteries? New cemeteries are used daily for burials, so they have to have the lion's share of the money. Key Hill's budget is very small simply because of that fact.
Arnos Vale at Bristol was worse than Key Hill. They now have considerable money via a lottery win, but that is a double edged sword. Conservation have prevented them from 'proper' restoration. Some magnificent memorials are covered in ivy and that has to stay - the reason being that to clear them, exposing angels in one case, will attract vandalism.
That's just one city but there are many more like that, without Friends groups, ancient burial grounds would just be left to rot, despite famous and interesting people being buried there. I think councils would be much better off if they stopped pampering their staff with water coolers, etc, and put the money into saving burial grounds, but it is unlikely that the situation will ever change.
Shortie
......... I have since discovered Oliver is not buried at Key Hill but commemorated on the headstone............