Cemetery lessons to tackle yob menace

The two-year scheme to refurbish the Dean Road and Manor Road Cemetery in Scarborough is nearing completion with the latest phase – to breathe new life into the site’s secret garden – almost finished.

The Friends of Dean Road and Manor Road Cemetery have also developed an education pack intended to instil a sense of civic pride among local children to try to prevent them vandalising the site.

The mortuary chapel has also been restored as part of the project, carried out by Scarborough Borough Council in conjunction with the friends group and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Friends’ group chairman Jan Cleary said: “Many people have contributed to the success of the project and it would not have been possible without the hundreds of volunteer hours put into clearing the secret garden and into the many other tasks involved in developing education packs for use by local schools.

“We hope the involvement by primary school children will lead to them developing a pride in the cemetery and over time reduce the number of incidents of anti-social behaviour in there.”

The project has seen a new York stone pathway installed in the garden, along with handrails and steps.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in April that work had been finished on the mortuary chapel, which is known locally as the Dead House and was built in the 1850s to lay out bodies before they were buried in the cemetery.

The work included rebuilding walls and reconstructing the roof with reclaimed Welsh slates to match the originals.

To mark the project’s completion, a grand celebration day will be held in the cemetery on September 9.