We will be posting updates on the work being carried at the West Road Cemetery over the next few months. In the meantime our thanks to Len Franchetti, Derek Tulip, Eddie Graham and Ray Moore for being the driving force behind this project. Our thanks also to County Durham Community Foundation and Prudhoe Town Council for their financial support. Northumberland County Council who are providing a team of people from Groundwork to help clear the site, 3rd Regiment Horse Artillery and ESSITY who have provided teams of workers to help us with the heavier work. The work will continue into 2018 and we will continue to post updates.

Update 1 - 26 March 2017
Work on the site started on the site earlier in the year at the bottom of the cemetery to remove brambles and undergrowth. As we go inscriptions on the monuments are being recorded. The records for this cemetery were lost some time ago, so where we find a grave without a headstone this too is being recorded. Later on a plot number will be given. The work will take a long time to complete but thanks to our team of local volunteers we will endeavour to do what we can. Our enormous thanks to Ann Blackburn at Prudhoe Library and local volunteer Ray Moore for their invaluable support.​​

Photographs of the work and each grave are being taken in readiness for an exhibition at Prudhoe Library. We will add these to our webpage after the exhibition. 

We have had 86 enquiries at the site and a local school are planning a site visit as soon as the site is safe. We have been inundated with requests for photographs by local residents. Society member, Brian Thompson, has been able to take some photographs for us which we hope to use in our exhibition.

The cemetery team are also working with Land of Oak and Iron and County Open Spaces Officer at Northumberland County Council to keep them updated on progress. 

Update 2 - 4 April 2017
Video of the project
Is being compiled by two local schools boys - Bailey and Dan, who are using a drone to take footage from above the site. When completed, we will upload the full video for you to see. 

How you can get involved
Work on the site generally takes place on Wednesday and Friday of each week between 10.00 am and 12.30. Do call in and talk to Len and Eddie to see what you can do to help.

Photographs
We need to obtain permission from living relatives before we can take photographs of headstones and memorials. We are endeavouring to contact family members and have found some as far away as Canada and Australia.

​Update 11 May 2017
Work To date
Initially the task of clearing the site was carried out manually by volunteers, with equipment loaned by NCC. However, the task was aided tremendously when we received the assistance of a team of workmen, with equipment, from Northumberland County Council. In a 4 day period they made significant inroads into clearing the site, as can be seen from some of the photographs above. This work greatly aided and enhanced the progress of the operation. The clearance work continues and at this present time there is also a need for weed control as the vegetation is regenerating with the onset of Spring/ Summer. The team will be continuing this work, meeting twice weekly (Wednesday/ Friday) and hope to have the site cleared within a short time. The final decision as to when public access will be permitted rests with NCC.

​Research
In tandem with the site clearance work, a programme of research has been conducted, primarily by one of our volunteers, Ray Moore, and the location of grave sites and the details of whom is interred within them has been , where ever possible, logged and noted.

​There is still a significant amount of work to do on this and it is hampered to a large extent by the fact that a considerable number of the memorials are lying face down, making it impossible, at present, to read the inscriptions.

Future Plans
One of the pressing items, which must be addressed, is the acquisition of tools and equipment. At present we are totally dependent on the goodwill of NCC, but the availability of tools cannot always be guaranteed and the only way to be certain of having equipment available is to purchase our own. To finance this we have been fortunate in obtaining grant aid and will be pursuing other sources for further financial assistance in the future to help plan for the ongoing care and maintenance of the cemetery and for carrying out the research into the memorials.

​We are also liaising with, and seeking the advice of other organisations such as SPAB, Caring For God’s Acre and other specialists in this field.

​We are actively working to promote the project to the wider community, there is currently a display in the front window of one of Prudhoe’s business’s and we are liaising with Prudhoe Library with a view to having a display mounted within the library along with a supply of information leaflets.

Update 13 July 2017
Best new project
The cemetery team are delighted to announce that the project has been awarded a further grant of £250 by Northumberland County Council in recognition of the work they are doing to reclaim the site. They are dedicating the work in memory of Brian Thompson, our friend and former treasurer who passed away on 30th June 2017.

A further gift has arrived from County Councillor Gordon Stewart, which which the team are most grateful. 

This lovely bench made for the cemetery by Mark Elliott, one of our volunteers.

St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery  -  Interim Report August 2017
Work continues apace on the cemetery project with regular sessions every Wednesday & Friday and to date we have had good support from volunteers with between 6 and 12 people regularly turning up to assist. The major part of the site has been cleared of undergrowth and trees and shrubbery have been cut back to improve the overall appearance of the place and facilitate access to all parts of the cemetery although there is still quite a bit of work to do before the site can be fit for general access by the public.

​

The team have been cutting down unsafe branches.

Major works that still need to be carried out include the rebuilding, and fencing off, of the South boundary wall, the creation of a vehicle access in the West boundary wall and improvements to the main access off West Road including the installation of a handrail and the building of a small retaining wall to improve the general appearance of the frontage.

​In conjunction with the ground works, several grave sites have been uncovered and research has been carried out on these resulting in considerable information coming to light about the persons interred in the grave sites.

​Several fallen graves have been re-erected and, again, information collated from the revealed headstones.

​Award of Best New Project
As mentioned in an earlier update the project was entered into the Northumberland County Council “Love Northumberland” competition and we were fortunate enough to win the “Best New Project” category. Presentation of the award was made by the Duchess of Northumberland at Alnwick Garden. We have also been entered in the “Prudhoe In Bloom” competition.

​Hexham Courant
​The cemetery project was the subject of an extensive article in the August 18th edition of the Hexham Courant and this has aroused considerable interest with several enquiries subsequently being received. Len Franchetti was contacted by a couple from New Zealand and has been able to show them the family grave and supply valuable genealogy information.

​Sharing success
Len Franchetti and Ed Graham have visited St. James Church, Benwell who have been engaged in a similar project for almost a decade and a visit has been arranged for September 9th to see what they have achieved which we hope will be well supported. Further visits to other sites are planned and it is hoped that more society members will take the opportunity to join these.

​Grant awards have made a difference
We have been fortunate in obtaining some grants to support the work being carried out.
£1000 from Prudhoe Town Council
£2000 from the Land of Oak and Iron Scheme
£250 for winning the “Love Northumberland” category.
The team are pursuing several other sources of grant aid  as there are still several major projects which will need capital expenditure including wall repairs, topsoil for infilling uneven areas and signage (Information boards). There is also the need to acquire more tools including a lawnmower, leaf blower, wheelbarrows and other small tools.

​And thanks to our brilliant volunteers
To date the volunteers have carried out some 1200 hours of work on the project and whilst support is still quite buoyant, we are actively seeking additional manpower, particularly younger people who might be better equipped for some of the heavier manual jobs.

​We're also looking forward to welcoming soldiers from Albemarle Barracks to help with some of the heavier work. Our thanks to Guy Opperman, who recently visited the site, for contacting the Barracks on our behalf.

​​September 2017 update
The team were delighted when the cemetery regeneration scheme won an award in the Prudhoe in Bloom competition, coming third in the Community category. This category specifically looks at the ethos of 'taking pride in your patch'.

Eddie said "This was really unexpected as we are, of course, very much at the beginning of the regeneration programme with a lot of work taking place on site. This aware recognises the commitment of the team of volunteers and the vast amount of work they are doing"
The project still has a way to go and the team is hopeful that next year they will be able to put on a dazzling display.
​
The troops arrived
The cemetery team were given a welcome helping hand by a detachment of from the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, who are based at Albemarle Barracks. They joined us on the afternoon of Wednesday 20th September and, although they were only able to put in a short, two-hour shift, they certainly made an impression! They barrowed tons of debris up to the compost heap at the top of the cemetery, a very heavy and physical job which is slightly beyond the physical prowess of some of the volunteers. But it proved to be no problem at all for the gang of fit troops.
 

​We hope that we will be able to get the army lads back at some time in the future as they really were a great help.
 
This support was made possible by the Land of Oak & Iron allowing us to use some of our grant money to buy barrows and shovels, and we are grateful to them for their help and co-operation.

​October 2017 update
Updating the cemetery plan
Now that the site is becoming ever more cleared, new graves are emerging and  Ray & Jean are working on a plan to mark them all on a master plan, it’s going to be quite a job, particularly as there are still so many headstones lying flat.

We now have the plan of the cemetery’s trees. So we now know where and what they are and which ones can be felled.

Community Champion Award
Congratulations must also go to Mark for being awarded a “Community Champions” certificate by Guy Opperman MP. Mark has done a fantastic amount of work, not only on the West Road Cemetery but also the Catholic Cemetery on Moor Road. He has spent hours clearing the leaves with a leaf blower, courtesy of Northumberland County Council. 
 
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
We are hopeful for the return of the troops from 3rd. Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, based at Albemarle Barracks who were able to handle the heavy jobs like wheel barrow pushing with ease.
 ​

Volunteers needed
Our working party numbers have been somewhat depleted recently and, whilst it is great that people keep turning up week after week, we certainly could do with more help. We welcome any support, even if it’s only a couple of hours. So please spread the word.
A big thanks to Len Franchetti for providing the tea and coffee during our work sessions.
 
Visiting other cemetery projects
We have made contact with a couple of churches who are undertaking similar projects to our own and we hope to be able to arrange visits to them in due course. We have already been to St. Ames Church in Benwell and seen the excellent job they are doing, so it will be interesting to see what these other projects are achieving.
 
The Land of Oak and Iron
We continue to work closely with the land of Oak and Iron Project. Our project was featured  in the copy of their latest News Bulletin in the Love Northumberland awards. Click on this link to see the write up. http://landofoakandiron.org.uk/news/support-prudhoe-award-winners/

​November 2017 update
Good news 1: The team have won a further award in the “The Love Northumberland” competition. A magazine has been published highlight all the projects which were successful, the page about the cemetery project can be viewed by clicking on the link below. 
​love_northumbria_report_2.pdf
The magazine can be seen by contacting Len Franchetti.

​Good news 2: The cemetery team have been successful in obtaining a further grant of £1000 from Northumberland County Council’s Community Chest fund. The team did apply for a grant of £5,000 which would have enabled them to purchase a site cabin for tool storage and topsoil.
 
They have also applied for grants from the Co-op’s Community fund and Tesco Bags of Help but have been unsuccessful in both. But not to be discouraged, they will try again later. Other funding sources have been identified, so watch this space!

Great Finds
The work in the cemetery continues to throw up new finds. Len recently uncovered what appears to be a child’s grave near the East wall, and Jean Keep has found a very interesting circular salt glazed relic which looks like it has been the base into which a headstone could slot. 
 
Meanwhile Ray Moore and Ann Blackburn continue to search the archives and collate lots of interesting information on the people interred in the cemetery. The article in Pauline Maughan’s notes in the Hexham Courant produced several enquiries which Len is following up.
 
Thank You 1
It would be most remiss if we didn’t say a big THANK YOU to the apprentices from ESSITY who gave us four sessions of help and assistance. They really enjoyed the experience and it is hoped that we can get them back when the new intake start work at the factory next year.
 
A very big thank you also to all our volunteers who turn up week after week, sometimes in less than pleasant weather, some great work done despite battling the elements.
 
Thank You 2 - The Faculty
The Archdeacon of Lindisfarne paid an impromptu visit to the cemetery and was most impressed. He has asked that his thanks be passed on to everybody who is involved in the “Amazing Transformation” of the cemetery.
He called in en route to a meeting with St. Mary Magdalene’s new vicar (The Reverend Daniel Freyhan) and we took him on a guided tour of the cemetery. The Archdeacon is keen for work to progress and has approved, in principle, the siting of cabin for tool storage in the North-West corner of the cemetery.
We also discussed the requirements for tree felling and the removal of stumps, wall repairs, fencing and the re-siting of headstones. We now have the necessary guidelines, and will be submitting documents and photographs to the church authorities. We are too late for the next Diocese Meeting and will have to wait until February before we can get the go ahead.

Thank You 3
Anne Edwards for the tea and biscuits, a very welcome treat which is very much appreciated.
 
Volunteers
Maybe it’s the cold weather but the number of volunteers on site has dropped rather alarmingly over the last few weeks, we could do with more (possibly younger) helpers to keep the work going. Please pass the word around as we are confident that there will be many people, who are not aware of what we are doing, who may be interested interested.​

December 2017 update
New support for our work
We are in line for another grant, courtesy of the Town Council, who kindly donated £1000 to help us kick-start the work. The fund will be available from April 2018, but it is nice to know it is coming. Other grants in the pipeline are on hold at present, the Co-op’s Community Fund is currently closed to applications until the next round, and we are continuing to work with the Big Lottery Fund to progress a grant application.
 
We are in contact with County Councillor Ken Stow, who has offered assistance in obtaining aggregate for the base of the proposed storage unit. After hearing that we are a voluntary community group, a company that supplies storage units are looking at sourcing an ex hire unit at a cheaper price.
 
Work on site over the winter
Whilst the colder weather prevails, we are postponing working sessions in the cemetery until the ground has thawed out and is safer to work on. We will look at holding an indoor meeting indoors to discuss the records and registration of graves and plan the next phase of work. If you would like to attend and learn more about the cemetery project please contact us at lenbren@talktalk.net or edgraham01@sky.com.
 
Interest in the cemetery continues and Len is currently in discussion with a USA resident whose ancestors hail from West Wylam, and has family buried in the cemetery