Reclaiming a historic site as a community asset

Aim

We are reclaiming a 200 year old historic wooded site, neglected for decades and now also affected by the effects of climate change.

“An oasis of tranquility thanks to more than 22,000 volunteer hours."

West Leeds Dispatch

“They are kindness itself to the descendants of those buried there. Thank you.”

Kath O'Sullivan, New Zealand.

Our story........

The Farsley Rehoboth Baptist Burial Ground was a place of internment from 1785 to 2000 and reflected the growth of Farsley, Leeds and in particular its textile industry with many prominent residents buried there.

In total there are circa 4,000 local people from Farsley, Rodley and Pudsey interred in the Rehoboth, all with their own histories and contribution to the growth and history of Farsley.

The work commenced with the purchase of the Rehoboth on 31st May 2019 and has progressed with over 22,600 volunteer hours dedicated to reclaiming this historic site. It is situated on a steep wooded hillside and affected by many aspects of climate change including water run-off erosion on the clay soil.

Our first ever donation was from the Aviva Community Fund; we appreciate your ongoing support for our important community project.

Bringing together all the community.......

For many, many years there had been no access for relatives to visit graves without trespass. The neglect of the Burial Ground had been considerable. The only entrance on Coal Hill Lane was padlocked and inaccessible due to overgrowth of trees and foliage.

Our Registered Charity, (Number 1182468) was established in March 2019 to purchase, reclaim and maintain this historic ground make accessible, restore the heritage of the local people and return to the community as an asset. We are formally designated an official Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

There are eight official War Graves and fifteen Remembered Graves in the burial ground from both World Wars. All of which are fully researched with their stories waiting to be told to the community with an additional 15 "Remembered Graves" discovered with an inscription paying tribute to a fallen member of their family. November is a month of Remembrance with great emphasis on those who gave their lives.

Please click here to visit our website for further information on our War and Remembered Graves.

This was the only registered Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in the UK with no right to access on Remembrance Sunday, until our televised service on 11th November 2019. Our third service was delivered on Friday 11th November 2022.

Please click here for TV coverage of our inaugural service.

What we have achieved to date............

In the twelve months up to 13th March 2023 we have held 175 volunteer work sessions, which equates to 1,768 volunteer attendees who have given up 7,702 hours of their time.

The ages of our regular volunteers ranges from 11 to 90 years and included the full squad of players and management from Leeds Rhinos Super League team

As well as combatting the effects of climate change, we are also combatting depredations from years of neglect. In February 2023 we commenced our "Archaeological Dig" where we are removing 40 tonnes of soil and building debris, bull dozed in 2003 on to historic graves during widening of a private road.

The soil is then separated and moved in wheelbarrows 200 metres up steep hills and is used to replace eroded soil in our new Bereavement Services area. Approximately one tonne per week is recycled; we plan to complete this reclamation by the end of 2023.

Our eco-system and wildlife is central to our work. We are creating a "stumpery" to provide habitat, shelter and feeding stations for existing and newly introduced wildlife, which can be observed by people walking past, on buses, as well as those within our grounds.

We are currently developing a new product for paths, consisting of recycled plastic squares filled with gravel that can be moved to different areas as required, which reduces grass damage from water as its 90% porous nature reduces the rate of surface water run-off. 

"Team Work"

We are often told our reclamation project has galvanised the community, with the "can do" attitude of the volunteers.

The ongoing development of this project has created a sense of local pride.

It has enabled visitors to be reunited with the heritage of a previously lost local asset which now benefits relatives, "locals" and friends.

Our Heritage Team provide conducted tours for the general public and relatives on a weekly basis, supported by an online database incorporated on our website:

Please click here to visit our website

To develop and deliver our role within the ecosystem we have mapped and preserved trees and plant life which will be monitored and documented each year. We are transforming sections of our two acre site with new plant life, bird habitats and water supplies to combat the effects of climate change.

During and after the drought in summer 2022, a large amount of resources were dedicated to forestry work on our trees, which are up to 140 years old and were being starved of moisture as the majority were covered in ivy with roots up to 75 years old.

Removal of the ivy roots (up to three inches thick) not only stabilised our protected trees but led to our "Treeage" system with removed roots and branches divided into three usages:

1. Recycling into wood merchandise of Christmas Rehoboth Reindeers, light up displays and Reindeer Robins.

2. Providing for coppicing and fence creating.

3. The remainder provided free to the local community on a call and collect basis.

Our portable and recognisable skills all carried out by unpaid volunteers within the volunteer teams. These skills range from the restoration of memorials, rebuilding a quarter of a mile of 150 year old walls, family and military research, excavation, non invasive foliage management.

The Three Stages of rebuilding the same part of a 150 year old collapsed wall.

Our project contributes to our local area in West Leeds/Pudsey by providing access and escorted tours on a site that was inaccessible for decades, attracting visitors from other areas that utilise local shops and services.

We have established partnerships with local and national businesses, also our local Academy and Youth Organistions with 120 inducted volunteers. We encourage volunteer placement opportunities with Voluntary Action Leeds and a local Specialist Independent Learning Centre, Police Cadets and Scouts. We are now accredited for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and hold weekly evening sessions.

Please request any information or further details of our work.

Email: [email protected]

A testimonial to our work.........

My name is Mike Turner and I live on the Isle of Wight with my wife Ann. I have been doing Family History research on my wife Ann's side. She has two half sisters, Jean and Margaret from her father's first marriage. 

Unfortunately they lost their Mum when they were 5 and 7. Jean and Margaret were never taken to their mother's grave although they knew where it was. Then of course the Rehoboth Burial Ground was sold and became a jungle. This week we visited the site expecting to only be able to look at the gate! Imagine our surprise to see all the work that had taken place and was still underway. I spoke to the volunteers who were working there and explained Jean's situation and that her mum's grave was E23.

I could not believe they said it was accessible. We donned high Vis jackets and were taken to the grave. Can you imagine how Jean felt being able to see and touch her mother's grave for the first time ever, at age 78. The bonus was her Grandparents were also interred with her mother."

Our visitors and re-uniting families......

How YOU can help............

We are focusing on the restoration and rebuilding of graves, securing the ecological balance by utilising 30 months of experience in developing infrastructure, creating all weather accessible paths, tracks and stepped paths that preserve the steep slopes from erosion. We have achieved 60% of our project for installing 264 grave markers with personalised plaques to mark the many graves that do not have any identification.

Please click here to visit our website and see our reclamation work.

We have introduced an electricity supply from the National Grid to provide lighting, a Wi-Fi hub for better access to the QR stations, audio visual projections during tours and cameras to record wildlife activity.

We appreciate your interest and the continued support from Aviva staff.

To enable us to raise our target fund for this cherished local historic site we appeal to your generosity to request you make a donation to this very worthwhile Charity.

THANK YOU.

Our volunteers appreciate your support and that of the Aviva Community Fund.

Please request any information or further details of our work.

Email: [email protected]

This project successfully funded on 11th May 2023