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25 March: A Date that Structured the Year, and the Records We Rely On

For much of England’s history, the year did not begin on 1 January. Instead, it began on 25 March, a date known as Lady Day. This marked the Feast of the Annunciation and, until the reforms introduced by Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, it served as the official start of the legal year.

This older way of structuring time still shapes the records that historians rely on today. Dates recorded between 1 January and 24 March in pre-1752 documents often fall within what would now be considered the following year. A burial recorded as February 1740 may, in modern terms, be February 1741. Some documents reflect this through double dating, such as 1740/41, although many do not.

Lady Day also structured how death itself was counted. The Bills of Mortality, which recorded burials, were often issued weekly and compiled into annual summaries. These annual totals followed the legal year, running from 25 March to 24 March. A “yearly” total therefore reflects deaths recorded between one Lady Day and the next.

This system has important implications. Mortality data for January and February appear at the end of the reporting year rather than the beginning. Patterns of disease, seasonal mortality, and year-on-year comparisons require careful interpretation to avoid misreading the sequence of events.

For Ballast Hills Burial Ground, this matters in practical ways. The burial ground emerged in the early to mid seventeenth century, when this system remained in use. Early burial records, parish registers, and related archival material often follow the Lady Day convention. Without recognising this, clusters of burials can appear misleading, and family timelines can shift out of alignment.

Attention to dating conventions restores the rhythm of the past. Winter mortality can be understood in its proper sequence, and life events can be placed in the order in which they were experienced rather than recorded.

Lady Day no longer marks the start of the year, yet it remains present in the records. It shapes how lives are reconstructed and how histories are written. Careful reading allows that older structure of time to become visible again, offering a clearer understanding of the people and communities connected to Ballast Hills Burial Ground.

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Join the Ballast Hills Burial Ground Project at Home Educators Day

The Ballast Hills Burial Ground Project will be taking part in Home Educators Day at the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM:H) on 13 February 2026, offering hands-on activities and a rolling presentation designed for home-educating families.

Discover how a burial ground becomes a classroom

Using Ballast Hills Burial Ground as a case study, we will show how burial sites can support cross-curricular learning across history, literacy, numeracy, geography, and creative work. While we draw on Ballast Hills, families and educators can apply the same ideas to their own local cemetery or burial ground.

Activities throughout the day

Design your own gravestone
Explore how inscriptions, symbols, and materials tell stories about people’s lives, then create your own design.

Build a family tree
Map out your family connections and discover how ancestry is traced through records, stories, and archives.

Historical occupations challenge
Interpret real job titles recorded at Ballast Hills and explore how work and society have changed over time.

Education Activity Sheet: Bringing the Evidence Together
A guided set of activities will help students and families to investigate how different types of evidence connect. Topics include:

  • Bills of mortality and how deaths were recorded
  • What graves tell us about families and relationships
  • Dates, ages, and life expectancy
  • Living conditions and longevity
  • Memory, forgetting, and who is remembered
  • Walking on history and recognising hidden landscapes
  • Bringing different sources together to build a fuller picture of the past

Explorer’s Guide
Take away ideas and prompts for visiting and studying your own local burial ground, turning it into a place of ongoing learning.

Running Presentation
A short, rolling presentation will run throughout the day, introducing Ballast Hills Burial Ground and demonstrating how one site can support a wide range of curriculum-linked activities. Drop in at any time.

Why take part

  • Activities suitable for a range of ages and abilities
  • Practical ideas for cross-curricular learning at home
  • Opportunities to connect history with real places and real people
  • Resources you can take away and use in your own local area

Event details

  • Date: 13 February 2026
  • Time: 9:00 to 14:00 (quiet hour from 9:00–10:00)
  • Location: Great North Museum: Hancock

Join us for a day of discovery, creativity, and learning through place. If you have any further questions about this event, please contact a member of the Learning team at the GNM:H by email: learning@greatnorthmuseum.org.uk.

Part of the Ballast Hills Burial Ground Project: unlocking the past, enjoying the present, and planning for the future.

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December Newsletter Now Available: Reflection, Growth, and What Comes Next

The latest edition of the Ballast Hills Burial Ground newsletter is now available to read online: December 2025 Newsletter.

December offers a moment to pause and take stock of the work that has unfolded across the project. Following a short break in November, this issue brings together activity that has continued behind the scenes, particularly across archive research, data development, and planning for the next phase through to June 2026.

This edition reflects a project that continues to grow in both scale and depth. New student interns and volunteers have joined the archive and digital work, strengthening the capacity to enhance catalogue records, develop research notes, and expand the project dataset. This collective effort supports a shared aim to make the evidence for Ballast Hills Burial Ground more accessible, more usable, and more meaningful for future research and interpretation.

Alongside this, attention has turned to how the project communicates its work. A small media refresh will begin in the new year, helping to connect the blog, Instagram, and Facebook more effectively. This will support clearer and more consistent sharing of research activity, discoveries, and opportunities to get involved.

This issue also continues the newsletter’s tradition of combining research with reflection. A seasonal contribution, Sonnet on the Shortest Day by Robert Gilchrist, offers a nineteenth century perspective rooted in the site itself. Historical research features, including work on Nonconformist clergy and burial practices, further deepen understanding of the people and beliefs connected to Ballast Hills.

Looking ahead, the project will continue to build on this foundation through archive research, public engagement, and collaborative interpretation. Opportunities to contribute, whether through research, writing, or sharing memories and materials, remain central to the project’s direction.

You can read the full December newsletter here.

As always, thank you to everyone who contributes time, knowledge, and interest. This work continues to develop through shared effort, and each contribution helps to shape how Ballast Hills Burial Ground is understood, remembered, and cared for now and in the future.

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Heritage Open Days 2025 at Ballast Hills

Heritage Open Days gave us three different ways to explore Ballast Hills this year, each offering a fresh perspective on the site and its history.

Exploring History at 51 Lime Street

Our first event took place at 51 Lime Street, where visitors immersed themselves in the stories of the burial ground. Activity sheets encouraged people to look closely at details, while Gary offered a hands-on lesson in family history research. A slideshow traced the site’s long and complex past, linking it to the ongoing work of the project. Visitors also had the chance to see a selection of objects uncovered during recent pathway work. These finds most likely came from a historic rubbish dump upslope rather than being directly connected to the burials themselves, but they nevertheless shed light on the changing use of the surrounding landscape.

Events on Site at Ballast Hills

Despite persistent rain, two further events were held outdoors on site. Visitors braved the weather to explore the burial ground using our new Explorer’s Guide, which highlights gravestone inscriptions, pathway segments, and the wider landscape of the ground. Then, as the skies cleared, the atmosphere shifted. Poetry and music performed by Marina, Maurice, and Harry filled the space, weaving words and sounds into the very fabric of Ballast Hills. Experiencing these performances within the site itself created a strong and tangible connection with the past. Numbers were smaller than hoped, but those who attended were deeply engaged, with many discovering Ballast Hills for the first time.

Activities that Spark Reflection

Many visitors particularly enjoyed puzzling over family trees and taking home “design your own gravestone” sheets. These simple activities encouraged people to reflect on ancestry, memory, and how lives are commemorated. They sparked thoughtful conversations, showing how creative approaches can open up discussion about history, heritage, and identity.

Thank You

Events like these depend on the generosity and creativity of many people. We extend heartfelt thanks to Gary, Lynn, Jen, and Steve for volunteering their time and expertise, and to Marina, Maurice, and Harry for their moving performances. Thanks also to John, who kindly documented the events in photographs, which we look forward to sharing soon.

Looking Ahead

Heritage Open Days are about more than single moments. They open doors to hidden stories, connect people with overlooked places, and put sites like Ballast Hills onto a wider map of heritage and memory. This year’s programme showed just how powerful those connections can be. We look forward to welcoming even more people next year for another round of discovery and reflection.

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BHBG Leads Tyne and Wear Feature in Who Do You Think You Are?

We are delighted that Ballast Hills Burial Ground is the lead project in the Around Britain section of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine (September 2025, on sale now). The feature highlights our work with volunteers, descendants, and researchers to uncover the hidden histories of this remarkable unconsecrated burial place in Newcastle.

The Tyne and Wear section is packed with fascinating resources for anyone interested in family and local history, including:

  • Digitised parish registers and nonconformist records,
  • Shipbuilding and coal mining archives that shaped the region’s industrial identity,
  • The Unlocking North East Jewish Heritage project,
  • Thousands of digitised local newspapers,
  • A directory of archives, libraries, and museums across Tyne and Wear and County Durham.

Whether your interest is in ancestors who worked in shipyards, relatives who were miners, or family members buried in parish or nonconformist grounds, this issue provides a wealth of leads and stories.

Pick up a copy to see Ballast Hills featured and explore the many other ways to connect with Tyne and Wear’s heritage.

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Heritage Open Days 2025

This September, we’re hosting three special events as part of Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture, running 12–21 September 2025. These free events are your chance to explore BHBG, hear its stories, and experience its history through words, music, and hands-on activities.

Saturday 13 September 2025

Paths Through the Past: Discovering Ballast Hills Burial Ground

13:00-15:30 | 51 Lime Street (NE1 2PQ)

Perfect for individuals and families, this drop-in session offers a hands-on introduction to the history of Ballast Hills and the research uncovering its stories. Try tracing your own family tree, design a gravestone, or learn about the lives behind the memorials. Whether you’re just curious or already connected to the site, there’s something here for everyone.

Onsite Exploration of Ballast Hills Burial Ground

16:00-17:00 | Ballast Hills Burial Ground (NE6 1LL)

Discover BHBG in three engaging ways: follow an explorer’s guide at your own pace to uncover hidden features and solve site challenges; chat with onsite guides for lively stories and recent research finds; and take part in hands-on activities that bring this historic burial ground to life.

Ballast Hills Burial Ground Poetry and Music Performance: Beneath This Ground

17:30-18:30 | Ballast Hills Burial Ground (NE6 1LL)

Beneath This Ground is a powerful, site-specific performance of original poetry and fiddle music created by Marina Dodgson, Maurice Condie, and Harry Gallagher. Inspired by the lives of those buried here, the work blends words and music to bring their stories to life. Performed outdoors at the burial ground, the performance allows the space itself to become part of the storytelling, offering a rare chance to connect emotionally and creatively with this historic site.

Whether you join us for one event or all three, you’ll come away with a richer understanding of this remarkable place and its enduring significance.

See the full Heritage Open Days 2025 programme (12–21 September): HODs Event Calendar

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Eleanor Strachan and Strachan Family Story

Eleanor Strachan, aged 14, was buried at Ballast Hills on 14 March 1853, the last year it was open for interments. She died at Windmill Hills, an area of Gateshead which was home to other notable non-conformist families at the time. Two of Eleanor’s siblings, Elizabeth and William, who died within days of each other in October 1853, aged 16 and 17 respectively, were buried in Westgate Hill Cemetery. Eleanor was one of ten siblings, eight of whom predeceased their parents, John and Marion (Mary Bell) Strachan, who died within weeks of each other in 1881 and 1882. On the parents’ headstone, also in Westgate Hill Cemetery, it states, ‘Six of their children sleep elsewhere.’ It is likely that some or all of these children were buried at Ballast Hills.

Eleanor’s father, John (1806–1882), was a ship broker, living at Woodville House, Broomhaugh, Riding Mill, Northumberland, at the time of his death. The family had previously lived in Cumberland Row, now demolished, in the area of Westgate Hill around Summerhill Square.

The Strachan family originated from Culross in Perthshire. Henry Strachan (1732–1815), Eleanor’s great-grandfather, moved to Newcastle as a young man and was a keelman, living alongside other Tyneside keelmen in Sandgate, an overcrowded area outside the city walls. At the time of his death, he was ‘Assistant Clerk to the Society of Keelmen.’ He was buried at Ballast Hills on 18 February 1815. This entry, number 269, on the 1929 BHBG gravestone inscription list reads, ‘The burial place of Henry Strachan, keelman and family where lie his two wives, children and children’s children too numerous to mention.’ The family were members of the non-conformist United Secession Church, a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. Henry Strachan already held the position of elder when the Clavering Place Chapel was formed in 1802, formerly the Postern Chapel. All his children had been baptised at The Close Chapel in Newcastle.

Several of Eleanor’s uncles and great-uncles were keelmen and river pilots. One was a ship’s master (captain) and another a ship’s accountant. Henry Strachan (1773–1841), her great-uncle, was a Tyne River pilot and on 7 October 1826, together with one of his sons, he risked his own life to save the lives of a tide surveyor and four boatmen whose customs boat had capsized, upset by the heavy surf caused by the Hero steam packet. He was awarded a silver medal by the RNLI for his bravery. The daughter of one of the boatmen gave him a gold ring ‘in grateful thanks.’

Barbara Phillips-Kerr

August 2025

With thanks to Vivien Millet, a descendant of Henry Strachan (1773–1841), for all her research, which can be found on the Ancestry website.

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Launch of the North East Funerary Heritage Group

On 23 July 2025, the North East Funerary Heritage Group (NEFHG) was officially launched at Newcastle Cathedral. This regional initiative brings together individuals and organisations with a shared interest in funerary heritage, ranging from urban cemeteries to rural churchyards, to collectively explore the cultural, historical, and social value of burial spaces across the North East.

The event featured panel talks, focused group discussions, and a series of hands-on workshops designed to help shape the group’s future direction. These sessions created space for participants to reflect on shared experiences and identify common challenges. From preservation concerns and interpretation strategies to community engagement and ethical decision-making, the diversity of voices highlighted just how much can be gained through regional collaboration.

The BHBG project played a key role in helping establish the group and sponsored the launch event. Many of the participants present have been involved in projects facing similar opportunities and pressures, making BHBG’s contribution especially relevant. The project’s emphasis on inclusive, co-produced heritage, its navigation of archival and ethical complexities, and its growing community of volunteers offered a useful model as the group begins to take shape.

The launch brought together key players in the region, from local historians and heritage professionals to volunteers, artists, and civic groups to co-create and define what this network will become. The momentum generated was exciting, with a strong sense that the time is right to share knowledge, build capacity, and speak with a collective voice.

Membership in NEFHG is free and open to all. If you’re interested in joining, simply visit the group’s website or just sign up to become a member. It’s quick, easy, and a great way to stay informed and involved.

Together, we can ensure that the stories embedded in our region’s burial landscapes are recognised, respected, and remembered, and that they inform how we engage with heritage, community, and place today.

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Bridging Seas and Centuries: The Beiyang Sailors’ Legacy Symposium

Project Lead Dr Myra Giesen delivered a talk titled “Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Ethical Engagement and Inclusive Commemoration in a Historic Urban Landscape” at Bridging Seas and Centuries: The Beiyang Sailors’ Legacy Symposium, held on 21 July 2025.

The symposium brought together international scholars, heritage practitioners, and community leaders to explore the lives, deaths, and remembrance of the Beiyang sailors. These Chinese sailors came to Newcastle in the 1880s as part of a delegation to receive cruisers that had been designed and built for the Qing Dynasty’s Beiyang Fleet.

Myra’s presentation highlighted BHBG as an important record of Newcastle’s social history. She emphasised the potential of the BHBG project to unearth Newcastle’s maritime past through the stories of those buried there, many of whom were connected to seafaring, shipbuilding, trade, and global movement. By examining BHBG as a layered historical landscape, the project helps reframe Newcastle not only as an industrial centre but as a dynamic seaport city shaped by migration, dissent, and working-class experience.

The talk drew thoughtful parallels between local and global memorial practices, showing how a small, often-overlooked burial ground can illuminate broader histories of labour, mobility, and identity. It also offered reflections on ethical engagement, collaborative stewardship, and the value of community-led approaches to heritage interpretation. Contributing to this international symposium raised the profile of the BHBG project and underscored its relevance to global conversations about memory, place, and inclusion.

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Why the Calendar Changed in 1752 and Why It Matters

In 1752, Great Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Julian calendar. The start of the new year shifted from 25 March to 1 January, and 11 days were dropped from the calendar to align with the rest of Western Europe. The omitted days were 3 to 13 September.

While the calendar year was adjusted, the financial year remained tied to the old “Lady Day” (25 March), which became 5 April in the new calendar to account for the dropped days, and later shifted to 6 April to correct for inaccuracies in the Julian system.

Dates between 1 January and 24 March were often recorded with double years (e.g., 1750/51) to indicate both Julian and Gregorian equivalents.

People famously went to bed Wednesday, 2 September, and awoke the following morning on Thursday, 14 September.

Understanding these changes is important when interpreting burial records, gravestone inscriptions, or archival materials at Ballast Hills Burial Ground. Many entries, particularly from the 18th century, reflect old-style dating or use double dates, which can affect how family history timelines are reconstructed and understood.

Credit for this content goes to Gary Taylorson.