Month: May 2025

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Join Us at the NEFHG Launch Event – Celebrating Funerary Heritage in the North East

We are delighted to share that the North East Funerary Heritage Group (NEFHG) will officially launch this summer and the BHBG project is proud to be a sponsor of the event.

🗓 Date: Wednesday, 23 July 2025

🕐 Time: 13:00–16:00

📍 Venue: Newcastle Cathedral (The Nave)

This launch event marks an important step in building a regional network for those who care about burial spaces and memorial traditions. NEFHG brings together researchers, local historians, heritage professionals, community groups, interested individuals, and policy-makers to foster collaboration, raise awareness, and promote respectful care for funerary heritage across the North East.

The afternoon will feature short talks, breakout discussions, and opportunities to shape NEFHG’s future direction. Whether you’re engaged in cemetery care, historical research, or simply have a personal interest, this is a welcoming space to connect and contribute.

As part of the day, NEFHG is also exploring the possibility of optional morning field trips linked to the event—and it is quite possible that one of these will be a walk or talk at Ballast Hills Burial Ground. We’ll share more details soon.

As a sponsor, we are especially pleased to support NEFHG’s launch and its vision to build a collaborative and inclusive network rooted in local knowledge and shared engagement with our region’s rich funerary heritage.

Interested in taking part?

You can learn more about NEFHG on their blog. Membership is free and open to individuals and organisations with an interest in funerary heritage. Join here.

Stay tuned for the full programme and registration link. In the meantime, save the date, and we hope to see you there.

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Celebrating Local History Month with Newcastle Libraries

We are delighted that the Ballast Hills Burial Ground project is taking part in Local History Month 2025, hosted by our valued project partner, Newcastle Libraries. The library has put together a brilliant and diverse programme of talks, walks, and workshops throughout May, all highlighting the richness of our region’s past.

As part of the series, Mike Greatbatch and Myra Giesen will be giving a talk on Tuesday, 20 May at 14:00, titled “Buried Stories: Exploring Ballast Hills Burial Ground.” We’ll be sharing recent discoveries from the project, including fascinating histories drawn from archival research, and offering reflections on the site’s changing significance over time. Whether you are familiar with the burial ground or curious to know more, we hope you’ll join us for this free event at Newcastle City Library.

Although the event is free, booking is essential. To reserve your place:

  1. Visit Eventbrite
  2. Select Tuesday 20 May
  3. Click Get tickets
  4. Scroll down to find and book the Ballast Hills event at 14:00

You can browse the Libraries’ full programme of Local History Month events in the digital brochure here. It’s packed with great opportunities to explore and celebrate Newcastle’s past, we’re thrilled to be involved.

We hope to see many of you on the 20th!

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Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Ballast Hills: A Lifelong Learning Taster Session

This past Monday, the BHBG project was pleased to contribute to Explore Lifelong Learning in Newcastle with a 90-minute taster session titled Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Past, Present, and Future. Delivered by Mike Greatbatch and Myra Giesen, the session welcomed 33 attendees and prompted a lively exchange of ideas and questions about the site’s history, ongoing research, and future possibilities.

Several participants expressed interest in volunteering, highlighting the growing local interest in BHBG’s unique story and its role in the wider heritage landscape. We are especially grateful to Explore for providing a platform to share the project and connect with new audiences.

In other exciting news, we recently submitted a funding application to continue our research into Ballast Hills, where Explore is named as one of our partner organisations in the bid. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome; we would love to build on this momentum.

If you or your organisation would like to discuss opportunities to get involved or partner with the BHBG project, please contact Dr Myra Giesen. We are very interested to hear from anyone interested in collaborating.

To explore the full range of thought-provoking and accessible courses available through Explore, visit www.weareexplore.org.uk.