CITY OF ELY COUNCIL Update
CEMETERY OPEN DAY 29/05/2021 A warm and sunny bank holiday weekend made for a highly successful Open Day at Ely's historic cemetery in Beech Lane. Organised by the Friends of Ely Cemetery, the event on 29th May saw a variety of activities which had been arranged to highlight the 16-acre site's importance both in the city's past and present.
Two tours took visitors on a walk to explore monuments dating from the cemetery's opening in 1855 and in telling the 'stories behind the stones' the guide for the day City councillor Chris Phillips spoke not only about Ely's more influential families but also about the lives of ordinary men and women who had lived in the town a century or more ago. Those on the walks were also able to see how customs associated with burials had changed over the years and to examine many gravestones which had recently come to light after being cleared away from part of the cemetery and buried many years ago. Visitors learned that these surprisingly wellpreserved stones were being re-incorporated into the cemetery's layout as an important historical record. For children visiting the cemetery there was an exciting Nature Trail which gave them the chance not only to win prizes but also to discover that a wide variety of birds, insects and small mammals had made the cemetery their home. The Chapel was also open for the day and visitors looking for family graves or wanting to find out more about their family history were able to 20 | Elyi Magazine | www.elyimagazine.com
City of Ely Council Sessions House, Lynn Road, Ely, Cambs CB7 4EG Phone: 01353 661016 Fax: 01353 667057 examine cemetery records and to discuss their enquiries with the Friends' family history coordinator. For book lovers there was a Book Sale and the money raised from this is earmarked for some of the projects the Friends have embarked on. For more information about the Friends please go to www.friendsofelycemetery.co.uk where you can find out more about their activities and how you can get involved.
SPEEDWATCH Are you able to help the local Speedwatch Team and encourage drivers to slow down and provide safe roads? Volunteers are needed for the local Speedwatch campaigns reducing speeding vehicles in villages and rural areas. If you would like to help please contact: Marianne Pickering at marianne.pickering@cityofelycouncil. org.uk or call 01353 661016
MAY ELECTION CHANGES The City Council thanked County councillors Anna Bailey and Lis Every for their outstanding service in representing our community as neither sought re-election in May.
