Thursday 18 December 2008

Weather: dull, damp
Team: Carolyn & Peter
What we did:

• Peter cleared flat gravestones in section C
• Carolyn cleared the old, dead plants from the bed at the back of church and then planted winter pansies
• We then tidied another grave and planted some pansies.
• Daffodil bulbs planted in between some graves
  
  

Thursday 27 November 2008

Team: Dorothy & her grandson
Weather: dry and bright

Dorothy planted bulbs and her grandson cleared a further flat grave in the C section of the churchyard.

Thursday 20 November 2008

Weather: warm and dry
Team: Carolyn and Peter

We cleared a further two flat gravestones in section C. Both had a large layer of soil on them and before we started it was not obvious that there was a gravestone at all.

before:	after:
Horrocks grave
McHardy grave

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Weather: warm and dry
Team: Dorothy

Today Dorothy spent time dead-heading and tidying the flower beds and planting bulbs.

Wednesday 12 November 2008

Weather: dry
Team: Harry and Dorothy

Bulb planting in the flower beds.

Monday 10 November 2008

Manchester in Bloom "thank you" event.

Carolyn, Dorothy and Harry joined other contributors to Blackley in Bloom at a "thank you" event hosted by Manchester City Council at the Town Hall. The upper churchyard was part of the judging route for the Blackley entry. Blackley won a silver merit award in this year's event.

Thursday 6 November 2008

Team: Carolyn, Peter, Dorothy, Harry, Eric, Greta

Today we were visited by Gill and Freda who were looking for a family grave. They brought with them photographs, newspaper articles and other information. These documents will be scanned and will be able to be viewed from a new "memories" page on the website.

We met at church and spent time over a cup of tea looking at the things which Gill and Freda brought with them. Peter took the opportunity to look up some information in the burial registers. Gill and Carolyn then went into the churchyard and found the grave! It is still in good condition, however the headstone has fallen backwards. Gill, Freda and family are to contact a stonemason with a view to having the headstone and other stonework restored to its former glory.

Dorothy also did some work to tidy up the flower beds.

Database and information from the Central Library

Further to the entry on 2 October, Harry has again visited the Central Library in Manchester and has found that the records for burials between 1855 and 1880 are held in a file called "MFPR 2073 - 2075".

We do have the burial registers from 1892 onwards in church and we can search them for entries. There is, however a charge for this under Church of England rules.

The database of information on the gravestones in the upper churchyard has been updated and there are now 383 names. I am continuing to work on recording section C as that is where we are currently concentrating our restoration efforts, however there are many stones so it will take quite a long time even to finish recording this section. There is a link to view the database on the "upper churchyard" page of the church website at http://www.stpeter-blackley.org.uk

Thursday 16 October 2008

Weather: dry, bright and some sunshine but with short showers of rain later

Team: Dorothy, Harry, Peter, Carolyn

What we did:

We continued working on clearing flat gravestones in section C of the churchyard. Today we managed to completely clear six stones, some of which had a very large build up of soil and plants. For many of these stones, it is not obvious that there is anything there except for a patch of grass and plants so they must have been completely unseen for many years.

Harry clearing soil:
before:
after:

Thursday 9 October 2008

Weather: dry and warm with some sunshine!
Team: Dorothy, Peter, Carolyn

What we did:

• Working in section C, we cleared soil, leaves and brambles from several flat graves, exposing some for the first time in many years. The main one which Peter was working on had about 6 inches of soil on top of it.
• Carolyn recorded the names and details from some more graves in this section. The list on the website will shortly be updated and will contain around 300 names.
  
• Peter and Carolyn planted some hawthorn trees at the bottom of the Hill Lane bank - hopefully they will survive and prosper to build on the length of hedge which is already established there. We also planted a few hawthorn berries in the hope that they might grow.
• We also cleared most of the leaves from the vicarage drive into the green recycling bin for collection on Friday.
  

Manchester Archives in the Central Library

Harry has recently visited the Central Library in Manchester. The records for St. Peter, Blackley are held within a section called "Monumental Inscriptions c. 1714 - 1950", "MFPR 1949".

Some of the information he found about graves was:

Grave number:
1768	WHITEHEAD	Joseph	76	11 February 1855
1768	WHITEHEAD	Mary	90	13 February 1867
1769	HEYWOOD	Joseph	26	26 April 1855
1769	HEYWOOD	Alice	70	25 November 1905
872	OGDEN	Samuel	80	30 June 1782
872	OGDEN	Jane	68	29 March 1774

Thursday 2 October 2008

Weather: dry but cold
Team: Dorothy, Harry, Peter, Carolyn

What we did:

• Dorothy tidied and dead-headed the flowers in the beds at the back of church.
• Dorothy, Harry and Peter worked in section C clearing debris and soil from graves.
• Carolyn recorded names and details from graves in section C
  
  

Monday 15 September 2008

Today the churchyard team were presented with a plaque by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This is in recognition of the work which has been done to improve the churchyard and make it accessible again so that relatives can visit the graves of their loved ones. The presentation of the plaque follows the confirmation earlier this year that our churchyard has been re-recognised by the CWGC.

The photograph shows (left to right) Steve Lomas (from CWGC), Keith, Eric, Carolyn, Harry, Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch (Bishop of Manchester), Sean, Dorothy, Peter

Thursday 11 September 2008

Weather: dry
Team: Michael, Peter, Carolyn

What we did:

• Michael continued with the strimming of weeds
• Peter and Carolyn cleared soil from flat graves
  before:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  after:

Thursday 4 September 2008

Weather: cloudy, very light breeze, promise of rain
Team: Sean, Pete, Michael, Peter, Dorothy, Harry, Keith, Eric, Derek, Jean, Carolyn (11 people - wow!)

What we did:

• Planned "purge" day today - a big bonfire to burn the piles of brushwood which had accumulated (we haven't had a fire for a long time). Michael managed to get the fire going quite quickly and then everyone started adding to it as they arrived. We managed to get through a considerable amount of the wood before the rain started.
• Jean cleared weeds from section M, near to where we had the bonfire.
• Early in the day, Dorothy and Harry weeded, dead headed and tidied the flower borders at the rear of church.
• We cooked jacket spuds in the fire for lunch, together with barbecued tomatoes and baked beans heated in the fire. Food always tastes better when cooked outside! When the rain started (and it did pour down) we retired to church for tea, cakes and biscuits provided by Keith.
• Sean and Pete did a considerable amount of branch lopping from some of the larger trees which means that most of the piles of brushwood which were burnt have now been replaced!

Thursday 28th August 2008

Weather: drizzle and rain

Team: Peter, Michael

What we did (we were restricted to paths because rain made the stonework wet and slippery) :

• litter-pick in lower and upper churchyard
• collecting and stacking windfall branches and brushwood
• Peter made more improvements to the vestry cloakroom, with Bob's help - we now have hot water!

Thursday 21st August 2008

Team: Dorothy, Peter

What was done: 

Dorothy and Peter did an excellent job of weeding and tidying the new flower beds at the back of church.

Thursday 24th July

Weather: warm, breezy, bright, sunny in the afternoon.

Team: Dorothy, Harry, Peter, Michael

What we did: 

• Dorothy, Harry and Peter worked on removing weeds and clearing flat graves in section B.
• Michael used the chainsaw to de-limb and cross-cut a sycamore tree which had previously been felled during chainsaw training and assessment (near section M).
• Michael used the strimmer to clear the graves in section OL (next to Lion Brow) and the lower part of section C (near the vestry).
• Eric refreshed us with afternoon tea!

Tuesday 22nd July

Michael sprayed the Japanese Knotweed which had escaped previous treatments and which was looking far too healthy.  Also sprayed new shoots growing from tree stumps.

Thursday 17th July

Weather: lots and lots of rain

What we did: abandoned play without even starting

Monday 7 July 2008

We have today received an email from a representative from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Many years ago due to the graveyard being in a poor state and the graves not accessible the point of commemoration was changed to Manchester Southern Cemetery and the casualties names were added to the screen wall.

Due to the vast improvements this has been reversed and the CWGC records will now direct visitors to the actual graves at St Peters and the two missing headstones will be replaced.

"Please pass on our thanks to all the people who have been involved in the hard work of looking after the ground."

Thursday 26 June 2008

Weather: rain
Team: Dorothy, Peter, Michael, Carolyn

What we did:

The weather started off looking fine and after clearing the leaves from the vicarage driveway, Michael and Carolyn met Dorothy in the churchyard. Peter then arrived and so did the rain. We took shelter inside church until the rain had stopped and then gathered our tools, went back to the churchyard and the rain started again, only heavier this time.

There was no sign of the rain stopping again and so we decided that working outside was not possible and decided to clear out our tool cupboard. This is now wonderfully organised and tidy and we shall be able to find things easily now. Peter also fetched some old tools which had been living on the church balcony for many years. These were sorted through with useful ones being saved and kept in the toolbox whilst others were thrown out.

Thursday 19 June 2008

Weather: fine and dry
Team: Dorothy, Harry, Peter, Michael, Carolyn
What we did:

• finished weeding the left hand bed at the back of church and planted up with geraniums
• worked on clearing more flat graves in section B

Thursday 12 June 2008

Weather: dry, mostly cloudy but some sunshine
Team: Dorothy, Harry, Michael, Peter, Carolyn

What we did:

• Dorothy, Harry & Peter worked on removing weeds and clearing flat graves in the B section.
• Michael used the strimmer to remove grass, weeds, brambles and sycamores from the Hill Lane bank and then from the grassy area at the side of the car park
• Carolyn removed overhanging hawthorn and sycamore branches from the Hill Lane bank.
• In the afternoon, Peter and Carolyn worked on clearing a flat grave in the B section which has tree roots growing over it. Some have now been removed, however there is more work to do next week, probably using an axe or large chisel.
• Eric's tea was very welcome after a hard day's work today!
  

Thursday 5 June 2008

Weather: dry & warm
Team: Peter(1), Michael, Carolyn, Sean, Peter(2)

What we did:

• Peter and Carolyn worked on the beds at the back of church in the car park. We spent most of the day removing the weeds and then Carolyn planted some geraniums in one side. The other side is still to be planted up.
• Michael spent the day spraying weedkiller on the paths, war graves and Japanese knot weed.
• Sean and Peter (2) removed branches which were either potentially dangerous or were hanging quite low and would possibly cause injury
• In Eric's absence, Julie made us some well needed tea.
  

Thursday 29 May 2009

Team: Peter, Carolyn and lots of young people from the "Hope 08 Urban Adventure" group http://www.bigdeal.org.uk/Group/Group.aspx?id=54419

In the morning, Peter and Carolyn continued with our work to clear the flat grave stones in the B section.

In the afternoon we were joined by the young people. The City Council had provided a large skip which was filled with fly-tipped rubbish and rubble mainly from the area of the churchyard near to the bottom of the vicarage garden. This included some huge reinforced concrete fence posts which took 8 or more of the volunteers to move - they carried them on their shoulders - a very impressive sight!

The long term project for this area, which does not contain any graves, is to create a natural (not manicured) memorial garden.

Thanks to the generosity of members of the congregation, we were able to provide the volunteers with sandwiches, biscuits, cakes, tea and coffee after their very hard work. Thanks to Chris, Greta and Eric for making the drinks and serving the food.

Thursday 22 May 2008

Team: Dorothy, Harry, Peter, Carolyn

We all continued to work on uncovering and clearing the flat gravestones in the old ivy section (I say "old" as there isn't much ivy left - hurrah!). This section is really section B so that's what I will try to remember to call it from now on!

Thursday 15 May 2008

Weather: warm and sunny but with a cool breeze
Team: Peter(1), Dorothy, Michael, Carolyn, Sean, Peter(2)
What we did:

• Michael sprayed the weeds on the paths - a continuation of the work which he had been doing earlier in the week.
• Dorothy and Peter continued to work on the graves near to the Tomlinson grave in section JX.
• Carolyn spent time with a visitor, Mr Foster, who wanted to investigate the registers we hold in church. He was looking for marriage, baptism and burial information on some ancestors. We were able to find most of the entries which he was looking for.
• Carolyn then did some further work on the graves around the Tomlinson grave, including planting some pansies in two urns which are on nearby graves.
  

Thursday 8 May 2008

Weather: dry
Team: Dorothy, Harry, Michael, Carolyn

What we did:

• Dorothy and Harry worked on clearing more of the flat gravestones in the ivy section. This work is now nearly complete.
• Michael and Carolyn worked on clearing and tidying the Tomlinson grave in the JX section, together with the surrounding graves and paths. This is in preparation for the internment of ashes of Mrs Edith Tomlinson who died recently. See the before and after pictures below.
• Eric again provided tea and biscuits

Thursday 1 May 2008

Weather: dry
Team: Michael, Carolyn, Sean, Peter(2)

What we did:

• Sean and Peter cut down some small self-seeded trees near to the vicarage and some branches from other trees which were either dangerous or in the way.
• Michael and Carolyn moved brushwood from the Lion Brow side to the burn site and then moved logs and rubble to the Lion Brow site.
• We were also able to identify two pieces of stone which had been removed from their graves and then return them to the correct place.
  

Thursday 24 April 2008

Weather: rain!

Due to the weather, we were unable to work in the churchyard today (when the ground and gravestones are wet, there is a health and safety risk).

Michael and Carolyn did some work on the risk assessment which we need to do in order to apply to have some individual workers from the Unpaid Work Unit work with us on Thursdays. This, and the health and safety policy/information sheet for all of our volunteers should be available soon.

Thursday 17 April 2008

Team: Peter(1), Michael, Dorothy, Harry, Carolyn, Sean, Peter(2)
Weather: cold and blustery at times, occasional sunshine

What we did:

• Dorothy brought her friend, Harry, our newest team member. Along with Peter(1), they worked on continuing to clear some of the flat grave stones in the "ivy section" (section B).
• Sean and Peter(2) worked on removing branches and tree stumps.
• Michael and Carolyn got a fire going to burn the brushwood created mainly when trees were previously removed from the section near to the housing association flats. There was also lots of other debris which had blown down in recent winds and the results of the work being done by Sean and Peter(2). Peter(1) also helped with this in the afternoon after Dorothy and Harry had left.
• Tea and biscuits very gratefully received from Eric.
  

Thursday 10 April 2008

Team: Peter, Michael, Carolyn, Dorothy
Weather: mixed - warm and dry one minute and pouring with rain the next!

What we did:

• Carolyn worked on removing all of the sycamore seedlings from the beds at the rear of the church and also some from the bank behind church. There are so many this year and it will be quite a large job to get them all out. Wild flower seeds were then sowed into the beds.
• Michael moved all of the chopped down shrubs from the lower churchyard (left from when the City Council contractors cut down the shrubs on the bank between the lower churchyard and the church).
• Our newest team member, Dorothy then arrived. We all took a walk around the upper churchyard to show Dorothy around and to advise on the various health and safety issues as well as explaining some of the work which we have already done and what still needs to be done.
• We then all set to work on clearing some of the graves in the "ivy section" (section B). Peter and Dorothy worked on clearing two gravestones of the soil and other debris (see photo) whilst Carolyn worked on removing ivy from nearby areas. Michael did the heavy stuff of wheelbarrowing away the foliage and also moving some other logs and rubble.
• At about 2 pm, the rain began to get heavy so we retreated into church and completed some indoor jobs.

Thursday 6 March 2008

Team: Peter, Michael, Carolyn, Eric
Weather: dry and breezy

What we did:

• Michael and Peter spent the morning clearing litter and taking off the unsightly plastic from the tree stumps. The whole of the upper churchyard looks much less cluttered with "rubbish" now.

• Carolyn spent the morning clearing the beds behind church (in the new car park) and then digging them over. This is in preparation for planting. Whilst doing this I found what appears to be parts of one or more stained glass windows. There is more glass underneath which needs to be dug out. Eric volunteered to clean up the glass so that we can then see if there is any value (historical or monetary) to it.
• After lunch, Michael moved some more of the logs and rubble down to the Lion Brow side whilst Carolyn recorded the details of some more graves for the database. This brings the total number of individuals recorded to 188. Still loads to go but we're getting there!
• Eric again provided some well needed tea and biscuits.
  

Thursday 28 February 2008

Team: Michael, Carolyn, Eric.
Weather: fine and bright initially with no breeze, clouding over later with a slight breeze.

What we did:

• Bonfire near to the west side of the upper churchyard (Hill Lane side) as we had four piles of brushwood and leaves to burn.
• Removed holly tree and bushes (using one of the new saws!) from graves which we also burnt.
• Raked up leaves, branches, twigs from the surrounding area and burnt them.
  
• Lots of litter clearance - 3 black bags of litter, a bag of cans, bucket full of bottles and a few pieces of metal for the pile.
• Moved more logs down to the Lion Brow log piles.
• Moved bricks and other rubble to the Lion Brow piles ready for the skips later this year.
• Well deserved tea and biscuits provided by Eric

Thursday 7 February 2008

Team: Peter & Carolyn
Weather: dry

What we did:

Litter pick in the lower churchyard. We filled two large bags of rubbish, two large bags of cans, and an overflowing bucket of bottles. We also collected quite a few pieces of metal (for the pile!), several bags of piles of newspapers which someone had kindly thrown into the bushes and a very large plastic pipe. It is amazing how much of the rubbish found on a litter pick is actually not litter thrown by the general public, but things left behind by workmen. The whole area looked much better after we had finished and it was lovely to see the crocus flowers coming out.