£7,900 grant for Exeter Dissenters Graveyard

Huw Oxburgh
Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted Monday, March 17, 2014 - 1:16pm

Volunteers at the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard have received £7,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) today, to begin drawing up plans to restore the historical site.

The funding granted to the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust will allow volunteers to begin a project to record, investigate and clean the site to preserve it for the future.

The project will also eventually see plans drawn up for an overall restoration of the site following the initial work by the trust.

Paul chant Secretary of the trust welcomed the funding award, he said: “This is the first stage of our project to restore the Graveyard as an asset to the neighbourhood and to Exeter.

“The people who have struggled for 25 years to save it whilst watching it slowly deteriorate can at last see positive change.”

The site was owned by various Church groups until the 1980s when it passed into private ownership, under which, the site had sadly fallen into neglect and disrepair.

The trust who now owns the graveyard was formed last year to protect the site from future development and is made up of 50 volunteers many of whom come from local archaeological groups.

An initial archaeological survey in to remove fly-tipped, check monuments, identify and re-unite graves and displaced tombstones as well as find the Graveyard’s original pathways is expected to be held over two weekends beginning next Saturday (22nd March).

The Trust ultimately aim to re-open the graveyard to the public once it is safe and clear making it an attractive place for tourists to visit in future.

This restoration is likely to include information on the site’s role as a physical remnant of the nonconformist tradition in Exeter as well as information about the historical Dissenter community  in Exeter.

The Dissenter community- made up of Protestants who dissented from the strictures of the Anglican Church- was an important part of the city's commercial, religious and political life, particularly during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with the Graveyard itself used for burials between 1748 and 1854.

The funding from the HLF could play a significant role in preserving this historical significance for future generations. 

Nerys Watts, Head of the HLF South West region, said: “Sharing Heritage is a wonderful opportunity for communities to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant so that Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust can embark on a real journey of discovery.

“Heritage means such different things to different people, and HLF’s funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their area.”

The HLF funding is the most significant single grant to the trust and adds to several smaller donations given to the site since last year including from the Council for British Archaeology who awarded a £1,000 grant through Mick Aston Archaeology Funding.

Other groups including the St Leonards Neighbourhood Association, the Devon Gardens Trust, Exeter Historic Buildings Trust and Exeter Civic Society as well as numerous private individuals have made donations to trust including finding the cash necessary to purchase the site.

The trust’s work is a community project and welcomes volunteers from no matter their level of experience.
 

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