Before and after: Probationers help
cemetery restoration work

PROBATIONERS who are helping Harrogate Borough Council reinstate hundreds of cemetery memorials through the Unpaid Work Programme are earning themselves qualifications from the York College of Masonry.

Although the council was undertaking a safety survey of all memorials in cemeteries and churchyards across the district, the death of a six-year old child from a falling memorial in 2000 led to the survey having to be done in a two year period. That meant many of the memorials that were found to be unsafe had to be laid down before families could be traced.

Philip Andrew, Bereavement Services Manager, says many of the memorials have been reinstated either by families or by the council but that the sheer scale of the project to be undertaken and the costs of it meant that work was hampered until the Probation Service readily agreed to offer support. He said: “Not only have they done a sterling job and made a big impact on a large percentage of the restoration work, many of the probationers are seeing the benefits of outdoor working and have expressed an interest in becoming gardeners or grave diggers working for the council which is good news for their future.

“We were also delighted that the York College of Masonry has come on board and some of the probationers are receiving qualifications in memorial work. We hope that our support and gratitude for their help on this project may lead to them getting full time employment in this field of work.”

All probationers have worked under Probation Service supervisors and all work has been overseen by the council’s own Memorial Technical Officer.

The probationers have now finished everything they can help with in Ripon Cemetery having re-erected 200 memorials. They have now moved on to Pateley Bridge Cemetery where they will help with about 140 memorials. It is hoped that they will finish here in July before moving on to re-fixing work at Kirkby Malzeard, Fewston (Meagill Lane), Kirkby Overblow and Knaresborough Cemeteries over the next 18 months.