The site for the project, Woodville Methodist Cemetery, is centrally located within Woodville village and is bounded by a popular recreation ground, a primary school, the Methodist church and a housing development incorporating an elderly persons complex. In recent years the cemetery has been increasingly difficult to maintain and care for appropriately due to the fact that burials are no longer undertaken in the cemetery and have not been for a considerable length of time. As a consequence the site has fallen into general neglect.
Several years ago a number of meetings took place between Woodville Parish Council, church officials and South Derbyshire District Council to try and resolve the problems and produce a long-term solution. The idea that materialised was the creation of a Memorial Garden.
However, despite good will, the project never materialised primarily due to a lack of funding opportunities. More recently, though, the project has been revitalised and restarted with the Parish Council extending the original idea to include the exploration, documentation and celebration of the heritage of the Woodville area in South Derbyshire.
The Garden project will include a re-sited war memorial; environmental improvements linked to the creation of an accessible garden and a heritage area that reflects the rich heritage of Woodville. This latter will include a Heritage Mosaic made by local school children, a re-created Rope Walk, a re-sited Victorian Post Box and up to 10 Interpretations Boards.
The overall project comprises two elements. The first element is the physical works needed to realise the Garden of Remembrance project, such as the re-siting of the war memorial and construction of the new garden area. The war memorial is currently adjacent to the main road and not accessible on all sides, in other words in a highly unsuitable location. Its proposed new location at the centre of a newly constructed garden area will offer a suitable location in terms of access, quiet contemplation and remembrance.
In general terms, the project will clear and level the area that has become overgrown and provide formalised pathways and seating leading to and around a central garden feature. The majority of the headstones will be relocated around the remainder of the site and to the adjacent churchyard. There are a small number of war graves situated adjacent the proposed central area that will remain in place as part of the remembrance theme of the project.
The second element is the heritage aspect, which includes the research, publication and launch of a book documenting the general history of Woodville, with a section documenting the family histories attached to the war memorial.
In addition
- a number of local heritage interpretation boards will be installed
- workshops will be hosted leading to the construction and installation of a heritage mosaic designed by local school children
- a Rope Walk will be constructed
- web pages exploring these activities and the local heritage will be published.
