Fpc newletter summer 2015

Newsletter Date Summer 2015

Ford Park Cemetery Trust

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reetings from all at Ford Park. As our staff continue to work hard to maintain the grounds during these busy summer months, we are grateful again for the support of teams of volunteers. In the past few months Amey, City College and Cooperative Funeralcare have all spent time volunteering in support of our small team. We are also grateful to the individuals who give their time, whether at events, in the café, on heritage research or any of the other Trust projects. If you would like to help us by volunteering some of your time just give the office a call on 01752 665442.

Co-operative Funeralcare

Visitor Centre As well as the popular exhibitions we hold, the Visitor Centre also sells local produce and books. You can stock up with Plymouth Tea, or jams and chutneys from Hogs Bottom Garden Delights. (The name came after they released hedgeHOGS at the BOTTOM of their garden) We also have local interest and Shire books for sale, as well as the Trust’s own publications such as the Heritage Trail and Dictionary of Symbolism. Do come and browse on your next visit.

Amey

Events The fund raising and educational events of the first six months of 2015 have been a great success. The Rock and Roll evening in February, Michael Campari’s annual visit in March and David Cotter’s Classical Guitar Concert all raised substantial funds for the Trust. There were two walks in conjunction with the Murder, Mystery and Mayhem exhibition, the evening walk being attended by an amazing 102 people! May was a busy month for us as a number of events were organised to help celebrate Plymouth’s History Festival. A Symposium on Faith and Belief in Victorian Plymouth, a walk in conjunction with our History of Plymouth exhibition and a talk on the Growth of Medieval Plymouth were all well attended. In addition, 17 hardy souls joined our Dawn Chorus walk on 9th May and there was a Notable Graves walk on 31st May.

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Ford Park Cemetery Trust

Summer 2015

Look and Listen If you are visiting Ford Park this Summer, here is some of the wildlife to watch out for as you walk around.

FIRECREST The firecrest and the goldcrest are jointly Britain’s smallest bird. Firecrests pass through the south west in small numbers on autumn migration and with luck, like the bird in the photograph, may sometimes be seen in Ford Park.

PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY Painted ladies are migratory butterflies and can occur in large numbers in some years. It is possible to see them right through until early November.

HARLEQUIN LADYBIRDS An invasive species with various colour forms, harlequin ladybirds can swarm in large numbers in autumn as they did in 2014 when there were thousands on the wing in the Cemetery on 1st November.

MISTLE THRUSH With a call rather like an old fashioned football rattle, mistle thrushes begin to appear here in October. They feed on the abundant yew, hawthorn and holly berries and are larger than the browner plumaged song thrushes.

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Ford Park Cemetery Trust

Summer 2015

New Accommodation

Tucked away in the quiet south-west corner of the Cemetery is a building we use as an equipment and vehicle store. The previous company had used the now restored Victorian Chapel for this purpose, and the Trust needed to provide an alternative facility to enable the Chapel restoration to take place. Both were completed in 2010. As reported in our Summer 2014 Newsletter, we have wanted to create washroom and kitchen facilities there for our grounds staff, and with funding help from the Friends of Ford Park Cemetery and practical assistance from Construction Training South West the work had started. However, for reasons beyond our control, the project has been delayed and we are now looking for volunteer skilled tradesmen in either carpentry, plumbing or electrics who may be prepared to assist us. When complete this facility will be of tremendous benefit to our hard working grounds personnel. If you can help, or if you know someone who can, do please call the office on 01752 665442. Thank you.

Lodge Gate Pillars The Trust has been hoping for some time to initiate repairs to the lodge gate pillars. Now, having taken expert advice, we have decided to employ a specialist restoration builder to repair the pillars which are Grade II listed. With the required funds now in place it is expected that this work will commence shortly.

Not only is this one of the main entrances to the Cemetery, but it is also adjacent to an important access point for Central Park. It is timely that Plymouth City Council and the Friends of Central Park are also working towards improving the visual impact of the area. Once both projects have come to fruition the whole area will have a more welcoming appearance. It has been discovered that some of the stone surrounding the window over the Visitor Centre/Office entrance is in need of repair, and this should be able to be completed at the same time as the gate pillar restoration.

Ford Park Cemetery Trust

Summer 2015

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Did You Know?

Ramsons

We have wild garlic (ramsons) which grows in the shade of the turkey oaks near the Central Park boundary.

Like domestic garlic it can be eaten, although it is generally the leaves that are used, either raw in salads or lightly cooked. It has a similar taste to domestic garlic, but milder.

In the same area we unfortunately have the introduced and invasive three-cornered garlic, so named for its triangular stem. It is a native of the Mediterranean, the pendant flowers looking rather like white bluebells. Because it seeds so readily it can form dense stands and outcompete native fauna.

Three Cornered Garlic

New Publication

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The Trust has a new booklet, a Brief History of the Forty-nine Airmen buried in Ford Park Cemetery, which was published in May. It was researched and written by volunteer Rod Pickles, who has a great interest in military history, particularly the Royal Air Force in which he served. The booklet, which is illustrated with photographs, can be obtained from the Cemetery Office or the Visitor Centre and is priced at £3.

Normandy Veterans In a ceremony held on Sunday 23rd November 2014 the local Normandy Veterans Association officially closed their branch by laying-up their standard in the Victorian Chapel. It is an honour for the Trust, and with Ford Park’s military heritage, a fitting place for the standard to hang in safe-keeping. In a separate event held in the Victorian Chapel on 27th February, NVA branch chairman Fred Coulton was presented with the Legion d’honneur by Alain Sibril, Honorary French Consul in Plymouth. Invited guests included the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Mike Fox.

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Ford Park Cemetery Trust

Summer 2015

Heritage Lottery Visit As part of a visit to Plymouth on 22nd May, Carol Souter, Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, together with other senior HLF officers, and Plymouth City Council officials involved with the proposed History Centre, came to Ford Park Cemetery. They wished to see at first hand a successfully completed HLF funded project, and were impressed, not only with the restored Chapel, but with the Trust’s continuing commitment to heritage and education.

Update The bric-a-brac table just inside the office building has now raised an impressive £1,640.56. Please remember us if you are clearing out as any unwanted items could help the Trust. The current total from the easyfundraising online scheme stands at £225.18. Do go to their website at www.easyfundraising.org.uk for full details. Thanks to everyone who has donated, and thanks to Sam and Chrissy in the office for organising the respective schemes.

And finally - a poem by Rod Pickles, entitled “Our Ford Park” This is our Ford Park A green

landscape where each stone can tell a story.

A Victorian Chapel stunningly returned to all its glory.

From on high it holds a majestic presence among the graves.

This is a heritage we safeguard on your behalf as Out there on a gravestone a gloomy pair of crows keep their vigil; No silent sentinels they! Their voices never still.

Across the vaults a cheeky chiff-chaff underwrites his name.

The gathering blooms of spring as ever invite butterflies and bees to attend their harvest.

A kestrel hovers high above as a dog walker journeys through the peaceful scene below.

This is our Ford Park A place of rest and meditation, a place of sadness and remembrance.

Among this mellow scene some former colleagues rest in peace.

There is a Will, a Rees, a West, Good people all and among the very best.

Here are Admirals, Sergeants, Gunners, and Marines.

Here a Smith, there a Jones And yet more famous names on a list that never ends Most have made old bones But more than this, and above all else, they still remain our friends This is our Ford Park…

…and yours?

There are many Trust events at the Cemetery in the second half of the year. Details can be found on our Calendar of Events and on the website www.ford-park-cemetery.org. Do come and join us if you can.