Major renovations at the Wisbech General Cemetery are well under way to turn the Victorian building into a meeting room and exhibition space to house the records of more than 6,500 people buried there.
National Lottery funding to the tune of £303,800 is being invested in the work on the building next to Asda which has stood empty and decaying for the last 50 years.
Work includes a new roof, new doors and windows and power and water connections.
A future vision of the building as a community venue was shared in an open day where the Wisbech Society and Preservation Trust alongside Friends of the Wisbech General Cemetery gave a chance for the public to look round, walk in the cemetery and learn more about the building’s grade II history.
After a long and detailed process of application, Wisbech Society was awarded the £303,800 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to continue its work in Wisbech General Cemetery.
Opened in 1836, the General Cemetery is nationally significant as one of very few non denominational burial places established in English towns and cities during Victorian times.
It is also the resting place of several people of local significance, adding greatly to the town’s heritage and providing a rich resource for historians and researchers.
The chapel was build in 1848.
• The next chance to enjoy the peaceful setting is in a Spring walk on Sunday April 8 at 2pm, meet at the back gate on Peckover playing field.
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