Our latest plans For more than 50 years, the Rose Garden at Christ Church has been the final resting place for the ashes of more than 1,300 local people. Even now that it is closed to new interments, it remains a centre for remembrance and consolation for many local families. Many of the departed are remembered by small plaques but many more are unmarked, except in the memory of those who knew them. It remains a key part of our bereavement ministry to our local community. You can search our burial database to find your family names.
For some years now, it has become difficult to maintain the Rose Garden due to poor soil quality, old and diseased plants and self-seeded and relative-planted shrubs and flowers. Volunteer labour is also difficult to obtain. This has led to the garden becoming unkempt and neglected looking.
The first phase, completed last year, has demonstrated our design approach and, we hope, our sensitivity in approaching this project. We think the result, so far, shows how we balance good design with ease of maintenance so that those who have gone before have a respectful and dignified, final resting place. Importantly, we have also made the Garden safer and easier to visit. A place of peace and remembrance for the many visitors who come to our site.
We now need your support to complete the remaining East-West portion of the former Rose Garden. The mature Lime trees, roots, gravestones and general lack of access, make this area much more difficult to visit, control and manage. Our aim is to unify both sections of the garden to create a single, accessible, and beautiful place of remembrance.
We urgently need your financial support to complete the garden and make it a fitting place of memorial for the many local families who rest here.
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The overgrown East-West Garden.
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