Wisbech General Cemetery opens on Saturday as part of Heritage Open Day

Wisbech General Cemetery will be open on Saturday September 9 between 10am and 4pm as part of Heritage Open Day 2017.

Wisbech Society will display plans for its Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) supported chapel restoration project, while the Friends of Wisbech General Cemetery will have the cemetery records to hand.

Friends’ chairman Sue Beel will lead a guided tour of the cemetery from 2pm.

Wisbech Society was recently awarded a £303,800 Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the preservation and renovation of the cemetery’s chapel and monuments. Opened in 1836, the General Cemetery is nationally significant as one of 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.

Paul Eden, of Wisbech Society, said: “The society is embarking upon an extensive restoration of the chapel, equipping it to modern standards for a wide variety of community and educational activities.”