Mayor and wardens visit Hailsham Cemetery

Cllr Paul Holbrook met with town councillors Barbara Holbrook and Anne Blake-Coggins, who are the current Cemetery Wardens who work closely with the Cemetery Superintendent and Burials Officer, attending the cemetery regularly to recommend any additional maintenance required at the site.

The Mayor saw for himself the considerable amount of work on improvements made to the cemetery over the past couple of year, including the latest refurbishment of the Old Garden of Remembrance and the creation of additional ashes burial plots.

Additional improvements carried out recently include the pollarding of two field maple trees and removal of the beech hedge on the northern and eastern side of one of the Old Garden of Remembrance, to allow for more light and to alleviate heavy leaf drop.

Furthermore, the front of the garden has been stoned and planted with lavender and the eastern side has also been stoned with lavender planted, in addition to a new path being laid, releasing up to 50 new ashes plots.

The refurbishment work at the Old Garden of Remembrance follows a myriad of other improvements carried out at the cemetery, including the refurbishment of the New Garden of Remembrance with the re-laying of paving slabs, installation of a new weed membrane and new gravel, and improvements to some of the cemetery's footpaths, part of a 3-4 year project to overlay all the paths with tarmac to ensure the safety of visitors.

"Hailsham Cemetery is a quiet, secluded burial ground run by the Town Council and maintained for maximum peace for those visiting loved ones," said Cllr Holbrook. "We want to ensure that our cemetery provides a fitting and appropriate place for people to visit their loved ones which is why we continue make improvements by carrying out any upgrades and repair work necessary on site. By doing this, we can ensure that the cemetery remains a place the community can be truly proud of."

"The refurbishment of the Old and New Gardens of Remembrance for example, will go a considerable way in terms of providing additional interment space for the local community."

Hailsham Cemetery offers spaces for the burial of coffins, as well as two Gardens of Remembrance and a separate space available for the interment of cremated remains. The cemetery also includes an area for 'meadowland burials' – for unmarked 'green' burials in bio-degradable coffins with no monuments or headstones.

The cemetery grass is cut around the graves on a regular basis and to a generally high standard. The rest of the cemetery is maintained and repaired regularly by the Town Council’s Cemetery Manager, and the Council endeavours to inspect and assess the condition of the cemetery as often as possible.

Hailsham Cemetery is generally open from 'dawn until dusk'. If you are intending to visit and wish to enquire about where a particular burial plot is, please call the Burials Officer on 01323 841702 (9am-4pm, Monday to Friday), who will be happy to assist. Alternatively, send an email.