5 January 2017
The ‘Seat to Remember’ Competition organised by the Friends of St Peter’s Berkhamsted has attracted 51 entries from far and wide. For your chance to register your view about the seating that we will have in the Rectory Lane Cemetery in years to come visit:
Dr James Moir, Convenor of the Rectory Lane Cemetery Project said, “It’s been a tremendous response so a very big ‘Thank You’ to all of those who have participated in any way. We are asking you to vote for a 1st 2nd and 3rd choice and one of the composite schemes as well. The quality is very high and the choice will not be easy.”
The purpose of this competition is for the final chosen seating to become part of the attraction of the Cemetery. We want it to reflect the nature of this special place and be a source of interest and enjoyment for all our visitors.
Voting via this website will close on 31st January at midnight GMT.
Background to the Competition
The competition is part of the improvement project at the Rectory Lane Cemetery. Eight new benches will be located in different areas around the Cemetery. After all judging and voting is complete there will be three prizes of £1,000, £500 and £250 for the best individual seat designs OR One prize of £2,000 in the event of a winning composite scheme.
This competition is part of a ‘Parks for People’ Project; a joint initiative of the Big Lottery Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund. It has been inspired by the restoration of the Seat of Remembrance, located by the Memorial Arch in the centre of the Cemetery – a splendid stone and timber bench erected in 1934 by Lucy Foot in memory of her late husband Brigadier General Richard Mildmay Foot. This whole project has been made possible by a generous grant of £8,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme.
This project aims to encourage sensitive new approaches to Cemetery seating.
About The Friends of St Peter’s
Launched in 2013 it is a Registered Charity (Registered Charity Number 1160314). The Friends encourage a wider appreciation of the church and its churchyards as a rich store of local and architectural history. Together with the Cowper Society they are responsible for the management of concerts, recitals and other events in St Peter’s Church. They organise social and fund-raising events and act as a focus and resource for all who are interested in the continuing history of our town. The Friends provide an opportunity for individuals, families, local institutions and businesses to become involved in the care and conservation of this irreplaceable heritage.
For Friends of St Peters: Elaine Mercer 07866118749 elainelmercer@yahoo.co.uk or Dr James Moir 07545 786372
About the Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery