Woodland cemetery in Horncastle set to open

The official opening of the Horncastle Woodland Cemetery will take place on Saturday May 20, where people can have a look around the new cemetery and speak to Town Councillors and Horncastle Town Council employees.

The Boston Road cemetery burial registers will be on display, and information available for anyone who would like to reserve a grave space at either cemetery will be available.

The Woodland Cemetery, near to community woodland off the B1183 to Boston via Scrivelsby and Revesby, will offer residents more choice of where they or their loved ones can be laid to rest, and should have enough grave spaces to serve the community for at least 200 years.

There are sections for coffin burials with a headstone, green burials with a tree planted on the plot following the burial, and a choice of cremated remains areas, including a formal area with a tablet memorial, or interred in a wildflower garden with a plaque displayed on a central memorial pillar.

The new cemetery is designed to promote wildlife, and boasts a pond, wildflower areas, and borders planted with insect friendly plants.

A spokesman for Horncastle Town Council said: “Thanks to grants from Lincolnshire County Council’s Community Wildlife fund, we have been able to build a hibernaculum next to the pond, and provide bird nesting boxes.

"A new hedgerow has been planted along the northern boundary and many new trees have been planted, and many more will be planted in the future so that the green burial area becomes an extension of the neighbouring woodland.

“Burials will continue to take place at the Boston Road Cemetery whilst space remains and in those graves that have been reserved.”

The woodland cemetery has been a labour of love for the town council and has been in the offing for a number of years, when it was first identified that the existing town cemetery was near capacity.

In June 2019, the town council agreed to apply to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for approval to borrow £110,000 to fund the work .

Approval was granted at the end of July and the council took out a loan with the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), which it will pay back over 50 years.

The opening ceremony on May 20 will take place from 10am until 2pm, and refreshments will be served.