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Key Hill Cemetery - Birmingham in Bloom

Key Hill Brian

Key Hill Brian

Proud Brummie
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Key Hill Cemetery will be the site of a floral display in the Brum in Bloom Jewellery Quarter Trail this year thanks to Andy Munro, Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership and Bev nash of BCC Bereavement Services.
This will be the site of the bed. Parks dept will mark out, supply plants (at a cost), water & feed them.
The Rangers based at Edgbaston reservoir will oversee a group of schoolchildren who will plant the plants suplied by the Parks, etc, etc,... of the court of King caractacus?
Some idiots - sorry volunteers are needed to remove the turf, double dig and remove soil, replace with compost, so Bereavement can cover with topsoild for the kids to plant the plants, that parks provide, .....
 
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Amazing bonus discovery - Not one but 2 brick walls, joined at a corner - This is suspected to be the foundations of the Beadles Hut that was adjacent to the entrance - They were the gatekeepers with Big hats and Long coats - none of which they left behind. It is hoped to reatin the walls in the flower bed, and do some Time Team digging aftyer the display has finished
 
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Close of play - Iron hard surface now broken up and turned over - helped by elderly visitor in centre who came in for a walk, but took up a spare spade and got stuck in for half an hour!
Work to remove dirt, put in pockets, walk around a bit, oops sorry wrong camp - placed in barrow and taken for a walk, never to darken our doorstep again! to be continued Sat & Mon (wee're all at the HISTORY FAIR on SUNDAY) - If you too want a part of this momentous event, please call in between 11-3, shovels, barrows useful, if not, please stand praise frequently, mop our sweated brows, shower us with ice creams & cold drinks - Red Lion round corner!

To be continued........
 
Wow this is fantastic especially as the school children will be involved. How exciting to find the wall of the beadles hut! I can't wait to see it in bloom!
 
I know it was Blooming hard digging in todays sun!

Will we have to put a safety fence around before the kiddies come?
Don't want them tripping over a 'ole!
Hope to post pics of progress, if Im allowed to photograph little blooms!
 
Sounds great, keep us posted, if you're still at it next Wednesday give me a shout, I'll come and help - even if its only taking photos of the finished product!

Alexis
 
Kiddies will be planting on 27th June, Prepping may take a few days at current progress - Will update after todays & Mondays sessions.
 
Hi Alexis - made some impression today, thanks to the help of 2 handsworth cemetery staff. They will try and borow the Witton JCB on Monday, but I think we will still be tidying it up on Wednesday, before we start to get some mulch in the bottom.
Brian
 
Hello Brian,
The flower bed will be lovely, a welcome addition to the Cemetery.
I was just looking at the black and white photos on the "Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemetery" website, and I wondered what the little building on picture 17 is? Could it be the Beadles hut?
 
View attachment 68566 The days 'finds' - ceramics (part mug?), Clay pipe bowl with separate stem, herbal remedy paste pot for almost every ailment, 2 small glass bottles marked London one side & Judson t'other.!

Research, sorry work continues on Monday, hopefully when 'mick the Dig' aka the man with the JCB arrives courtesy of Witon cemetery (fingers crssed - pretty please)
 
Hi Rosie, we do believe it to be the BEadles hut - amazing find!
We are leaving the brick foundations in situ, and will plant around it.
AS far as we know at present, the Foral display is for July/Aug only - not enough funds to maintain a year round display.
If so, when it is turfed over, we would like to retain the hut outline, continue it around it's 4th wall, and possibly plant the interior as a small flower bed, reatining the hut outline - we have yet to discuss this with Bereavement Services, as we only discovered it Friday!

No sign of the Beadles as yet, we have some of the coal slack, broken mug?, herbal ointment pot, pipe, and tiny little bottles marked Judson/London - more medicine?
 
hi bri..ive been following this thread with great interest....what an absolute amazing find...not only have you uncovered beadles hut but it came with some artifacts...:) both yourself and all the helpers at key hill really deserve this little bit of excitement as i know just how hard you all work on the up keep of the cemetery...i take me hat off you all....:thumbsup: please keep us updated...:thumbsup:

lyn..
 
Brian, the flower bed is much bigger than I imagined it would be - you have all been working so hard - WELL DONE! And how exciting that you have found the foundations/bricks of the Beadles hut and some bottles and other things - I can't wait to hear if you find anything else down there. Thank you for posting the photos.
 
I hope Postie doesn't mind using the thread as a blog of sorts - I thought the whole Flower Bed thing from start to Bloom would look nice in pics, almost a comic strip!

There is a lot more physical work involved than we thought - The Rangers were hoping to get a Community Group to dig the bed out - you just cannot believe how dirt there is in a decent sized hole!
We are looking into it!

Thought, if nothing else, a light hearted commentary may raise a few smiles at the end of some peoples 'orrible days!

Day off tomorrow whilst we stand at the History Fair for 5 hours nattering about the good old days - they just don't make them chimmneys like they used to!

Hope it's dry Monday and that no one has crept in and filled the 'ole up again!

Brian
 
Brian, puts a new angle on pushing up the daisies lol
Seriously, I think it's a great thing to do and the finds as well make it a really big issue - hope it is going to get some media coverage for you.
I have never been to Key Hill, none of our families lived that side of town, but must put it on the list of places to visit, really need a few weeks off to se them all.
Good luck with the rest of the work, keep us posted if you aren't too exhausted!!
Sue
 
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