Story: Saleema Imam | Photo: Rohan Francis
Glorious sunshine heralded the annual well dressing in Burngreave Cemetery on Sunday 14th July. At noon, Councillor Jackie Drayton, one of a number of volunteers who had worked over the previous few days to create the artwork, revealed this year’s theme: the everlasting rotation of the seasons.
The ancient local tradition of decorating wells in thanksgiving for the life giving gift of water was accompanied this time by a modern day equivalent – a mosaic made in plastic bottle tops depicting infinity. Both stand together by one of the wells which all predate the cemetery by hundreds of years.
Research into this well and the drift mines which were previously worked beneath the land now occupied by graves, is being supported by a grant from the National lottery ‘All our Stories’ strand.
Earlier this year saw an initial survey of the well; a mini ‘dig’ took place in July on the lawned area near to the Melrose Road entrance, and a Time Team style geo-physical survey of the same area is planned for the autumn.
Victorian artefacts and mining photographs from the National Mining Museum were on display inside the old mortuary chapel The local history project continues over the summer with community workshops to create a mosaic sundial which will be placed in the grassed area near to the cemetery gates.
The Friends of Burngreave Cemetery continue to meet every Sunday between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm to help visitors find graves.
Patrick Amber leads recycled craft workshops between 2.00 and 4.00pm. Details from http://www.friendsofburngreavecemetery.btck.co.uk
Artist Patrick Amber follows up this story and explains how he and a group of visitors to the chapel rebuilt a mosaic using plastic bottle tops. See Bottle-Top Mosaic in the August 2013 News section.