When even the weather is unkind to our graveyard ……..

The old churchyard by the village green is a special place.

For many it is somewhere to sit quietly amongst the trees and bushes, and for others like me it’s a place full of Chorlton’s history.

But as the newly formed Friends of Chorlton Graveyard know, it needs a heap of tender care and attention.  Many of the gravestones that form the path are now titling slightly, making for an uneven and dangerous surface which after heavy rain has turned the area into a series of lakes.

Equally worrying is that the constant foot fall is wearing away the inscriptions, and when they have gone the names and the stories of many of our past residents will be lost for ever.

The Friends want to address these issues by working with the city council to tackle the immediate issues, explore how the graveyard could be improved, and act as a focus for maintaining the site.

The Friends are under the wing of Chorlton Voice (Civic Society) and have been helped by Cllr Mathew Bentham and officers from the Council’s Neighbour Services, and recently set up a Facebook group which has attracted a lot of interest.

And on October 15^th the Friends invite you to meet us at the Bowling Green Hotel at 12.00pm to hear the story of the graveyard and its church, as well as being able to offer up suggestions about how to restore the site.

Location; Chorlton graveyard

Pictures; the graveyard on a wet autumnal day, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The Friends of Chorlton Graveyard, www.facebook.com/groups/chorltongraveyard