Arnos Vale pt 1

Arnos Vale Cemetary in Bristol was opened in 1839 as a 'garden cemetary.' It sprawls over 45 acres. In the 1980's this privately owned cemetary run out of burial space and in 198 it leaked out that the owners wanted to clear some of the land for development, a group of concerned people banded together and formed what is now friends of Arnos Vale http://www.arnosvalefriends.org.uk/ and in 2003 Bristol City Council became the new owners of the cemetary and set up a charitable trust to restore and protect the cemetary.
Due to the long years of meglect many of the graves in Arnos Vale are sadly overgown and hard to see - but this neglect in it's way has helped Arnos Vale survive - now not only is it a cemetary full of beautilful monuments it is also a haven for wildlife.
Currently thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund and volunteers, restoration is being carried out - the idea being to make the monuments and graves accessible to visitors while preserving the woodland for wildlife.

Many sailors have been buried in Arnos Vale. Here a anchor adorns a gravestone

One of Arnos Vale's many angels


In Prayer

This grave gives an idea of the task that the restoration team face

All in all Arnos Vale is definately worth a visit, although being 45 acres it really needs more than one visit to even see a fraction of it. I have many more photos of 'The Vale' to share and will upload more soon.

In the meantime if you want more information on the Cemetary why not visit their website at http://www.arnosvale.org.uk/

And let me know what you think!