Target reached!
With the extra money, we'll continue to improve this area. We'll plant wildflowers a...
Take a seat! Help repair fire damage at THCP
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
After a fire caused by a BBQ, our seating area that many visitors love to spend time at is half destroyed. We'd love to rebuild it!
In the height of the summer 2022 heatwave, a fire started in the northeast corner of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park thanks to several disposable BBQs being used right on our wooden octagonal seating area. This seating area, a space for our visitors and community to spend time as well as marking the site of our historic dissenters' chapel, was badly damaged with a huge chunk of the space completely destroyed. Other sections are burned in patches and looking sorry for themselves.
A sorry site/sight after disposable bbq damage
This site was once the final stop on the journey of anyone who was outside of the Anglican Christian faith (from Methodists and Catholics to Muslims, Jewish people and Atheists) who died around the East End of London before 1966 and has huge historic significance for the families of East London. It is also a space where the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park host events and where both the local community and visitors to the historic cemetery and nature reserve can enjoy peace and quiet away from the busy city.
We'd love to see the space restored but wood and skilled labour don't come cheap and we've been quoted £1000 to fix the damage. As a very small charity (a team of 3 with the support of hundreds of volunteers manage the 31-acre site), we simply can't afford to pay for repairs without your support. Every penny donated will get us closer to the wonderful space this area once was. To make this space EVEN better, we are also adding a stretch goal of an extra £500 that would enable us to plant wildflowers and spring bulbs in the space around the seating area and paint the story of the chapel onto the structure itself.
Before the fire damage, filming with Four Corners film crew
Who are the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park?
The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park are a small charity who care for and maintain Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, a historic cemetery and nature reserve in the heart of London's East End. We run everything from nature conservation volunteering and forest schools to heritage walks and family history support, all whilst keeping the Cemetery Park clean, tidy and thriving. Find out more at www.fothcp.org!
This project successfully funded on 5th September 2022