Current Stony in Bloom Projects
Following on from our projects in 2009 – the ‘Sensory Garden’ near the junction of Hale Avenue and London Road, and the ‘Bluebell Wood’ at the top of London Road near the Stony Stratford Children’s Play Centre – we have decided to concentrate in 2010 on certain heritage projects.
London Road Cemetery: the lychgate
Already a number of work parties have cleared ivy from the stone perimeter walls and the lychgate of the old Wolverton St Mary’s burial ground in London Road, which has been somewhat neglected in recent years. There is still much more to do. During this work it became obvious that the lychgate, which was designed by the well-known local nineteenth-century architect Edward Swinfen Harris and erected around 1870, was in need of urgent renovation.
Surprisingly, this proved to be somewhat easier to get under way than was first thought, as Chris Butcher of CJB Construction and Simon Pooley of SP Scaffolding kindly offered to carry out this work completely free of charge. All we have to do is finance the materials, which will be reclaimed material of that period, where possible, to restore it as closely as possible to its original look.
Milton Keynes Council and the Stony Stratford Futures Group have kindly agreed to pay for these materials on a match-funded basis.
In spite of the snow, the scaffolding has been erected on 7 January, with work hopefully starting on 11 January.
London Road Cemetery: the cross
Research and negotiations have been going on for a considerable time in respect of the 'Ecclesiastical Cross' in the same burial ground. For reasons of safety this has been fenced off in a somewhat unsightly manner for a number of years now. Because there are burials very close to the cross, it is not feasible to get equipment in to carry out in situ the essential safety and renovation work that is urgently required.
Instead, the plan is to remove the cross, to carry out that work, including sympathetic cleaning, and then to re-erect the cross within the same ancient parish, but at a location yet to be decided. The plans are to make it a prominent feature within the town, with perhaps a Memorial Garden planted around it, eventually seating, and even carpet bedding. All these ideas are open to discussion, and your views are welcome.
For further details or comments, please contact Ray Cobley on 01908 562370 or Charles Brindley, Clerk to Stony Stratford Town Council, on 01908 566726.
