Category: Project News

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Four Burial Places, Four Ways to Explore Newcastle’s Past

Heritage Open Days 2026 offers several opportunities to explore Newcastle’s history through its burial grounds, churchyards, graveyards, and cemeteries. The events take place on different days, so visitors can enjoy all four.

Newcastle Cathedral Churchyard

Churchyard Mysteries: All-Ages Guided Tour

Saturday 12 September, at 11.00 am, 12.00 noon, and 1.00 pm

These lively 25 to 30-minute tours explore some of the stories and mysteries connected with the Cathedral churchyard, including the Vampire Rabbit and the possibility that a pirate lies buried within the grounds.

Pre-booking is preferred but not compulsory. Places are limited to 15 people per tour.

Image: St Nicholas’Churchyard, early 19th century. Courtesy of Newcastle University Special Collections & Archives.

St James’ Graveyard, Benwell

Stories from the graveyard: working lives, talk and tour

Wednesday 16 September, 1.00–3.00 pm

A short talk and film at West End Library are followed by a guided visit to St James’ Graveyard. The event explores the working lives of pitmen, engineers, farmers, shopkeepers, nurses, and other people from West Newcastle.

Pre-booking is required. Places are limited to eight people.

Image: St James’ Church and part of the Graveyard, Newcastle Libraties.

Jesmond Old Cemetery

Exploring Some of the Everyday Stories within Jesmond Old Cemetery

Thursday 17 September and Sunday 20 September, 11.00 am–1.00 pm

The Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery will lead a guided walk sharing newly researched stories about the people buried within this historic garden cemetery, its monuments, and its changing character.

Pre-booking is required. Booking closes on 7 September.

Ballast Hills Burial Ground, Ouseburn

Saturday 19 September

Ballast Hills will host a full day of free activities, including archive displays and family-history activities at Brinkburn Brewery, self-guided exploration and onsite guides at the burial ground, music and poetry, and evening storytelling along the gravestone path. Come along for one event or enjoy the full programme.

Most activities are drop-in, but places on the Brinkburn Brewery tours must be booked in advance.

Each burial place offers a different perspective on Newcastle’s past. Visitors can explore churchyard mysteries, working lives, cemetery stories, and the overlooked histories of Ballast Hills across four separate days.

Why choose only one? Heritage Open Days make it possible to enjoy them all.

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Green Day Progress ahead of Heritage Open Days

Preparations for Heritage Open Days are gathering pace at Ballast Hills Burial Ground.

Volunteers made excellent progress during the 4 August 2026 Green Day, concentrating on the Albion Row entry way, the upright gravestones, and the gravestone pathways. They carefully removed weeds, leaves, and accumulated soil, revealing more of the stonework and making the routes clearer for visitors.

The before-and-after photographs show the difference that a few hours of patient work can make.

We are especially grateful to the Ouseburn Trust Environmental Group volunteers, whose hard work, care, and practical support made a significant contribution to these sessions.

Our remaining scheduled Green Day will take place on Tuesday 1 September, but more work remains before Heritage Open Days on Saturday 19 September. We hope to arrange additional sessions during the weeks leading up to the event.

Anyone interested in helping should contact ballast.hills@newcastle.ac.uk. We can also arrange a bespoke Green Day on another suitable date when a group of five or more volunteers can attend.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed time, energy, and care. Each session helps us to prepare the burial ground to welcome visitors and share its remarkable history.

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Heritage Open Days 2026 at Ballast Hills

Saturday, 19 September 2026
Brinkburn St Brewery and Ballast Hills Burial Ground

Join us for a full day of free events exploring the everyday histories of Ballast Hills Burial Ground. Used from about 1640 to 1853, Ballast Hills became the resting place of more than 40,000 people from varied religious and social backgrounds.

Our Heritage Open Days programme will bring some of their stories into view through archives, activities, brewing history, self-guided exploration, music, poetry, and an atmospheric twilight visit. Visitors are welcome to attend one event or combine several across the day. Download A5 Flyer here.

Everyday Histories at Ballast Hills

10.30 am to 2.00 pm
Brinkburn St Brewery
Drop in, no booking required

Explore maps, burial records, gravestone inscriptions, family-history activities, learning resources, and local stories. We will be available to answer questions and introduce some of the people and communities connected with Ballast Hills.

Brinkburn Brewery Tours

11.00 am, 12.00 noon, and 1.00 pm
Brinkburn St Brewery
Advance booking required

Tour the working brewery and discover local brewing history alongside a small display about brewing-related occupations represented among the people buried at Ballast Hills. Each tour lasts 45 minutes, places are limited, and participants must be aged 18 or over.

Explore Ballast Hills

2.30 to 4.00 pm
Ballast Hills Burial Ground
Drop in, no booking required

Try the redeveloped Ballast Hills Explorer’s Guide, follow the trail at your own pace, or speak with guides stationed around the site. This session offers a relaxed way to explore the gravestone pathway, hear stories, and ask questions.

Beneath This Ground

4.00 to 5.00 pm
Ballast Hills Burial Ground
No booking required

Experience original poetry and fiddle music by Marina Dodgson, Maurice Condie, and Harry Gallagher. This site-specific performance draws on the lives, losses, working experiences, and memories of people buried at Ballast Hills. Visitors may wish to bring a portable chair or blanket.

Twilight at Ballast Hills

6.30 to 7.30 pm
Ballast Hills Burial Ground
Drop in, no booking required

Return at dusk for an informal exploration of the burial ground. Guides will share stories along the gravestone pathway while visitors move through the site at their own pace.

Plan Your Visit

All events are free. Only the brewery tours require advance booking.

The burial ground events take place outdoors, and some areas are uneven. Please wear suitable footwear, dress for the weather, and remember that all visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Please also explore the wider Heritage Open Days programme and discover the many other free events taking place across Newcastle and the surrounding area.

We look forward to welcoming you for a day of discovery, creativity, conversation, and everyday histories.

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Green Days Continue at Ballast Hills

Volunteers have continued to meet at Ballast Hills Burial Ground for Green Days, helping to keep the site tidy, welcoming, and respectful. Recent sessions have included litter picking, light vegetation work, and general site care.

Wild Intrigue also provided an update on the birds using the burial ground, helping us to understand Ballast Hills as both a historic landscape and a living urban green space.

The remaining scheduled Green Days for 2026 are:

  • Tuesday, 4 August
  • Tuesday, 1 September

Sessions run from 6.30 to 8.00 pm. Volunteers can meet at the painted shipping container behind The Ship Inn at 6.30 pm, or at Ballast Hills at approximately 6.45 pm. Equipment will be provided, but please wear suitable outdoor clothing and bring your preferred gloves, if you have them.

Everyone is welcome, whether you can join regularly or attend only occasionally. Please contact us at ballast.hills@newcastle.ac.uk with any questions, or to let us know whether we can expect you.

We may arrange a few additional Green Days in the lead-up to our Heritage Open Days programme on 19 September. Please stay tuned for further details.

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Celebrating Curiosity: Recognition, Evidence, People, and Protection

On 15 June, volunteers, project partners, researchers, performers, and community supporters gathered at Brinkburn St Brewery to celebrate what curiosity has made possible at Ballast Hills Burial Ground. The event marked the close of the AHRC Curiosity Award phase, but not the end of the work.

The presentation focused on four themes: recognition, evidence, people, and protection. The project has helped to make Ballast Hills more visible as a burial landscape, heritage asset, and place of memory, while drawing together evidence from maps, registers, gravestone inscriptions, archives, geophysical surveys, laser scanning, and onsite recording.

The work has also begun to reconnect names in the records with families, occupations, neighbourhoods, descendants, and the wider history of Newcastle. Volunteers made much of this possible, contributing more than 1000 hours, student interns, and project partners.

Music and poetry from Beneath This Ground, performed by Marina Dodgson, Maurice Condie, and Harry Gallagher, formed a memorable part of the evening. Guests also explored project handouts, shared conversations, and enjoyed Ballast Hills Brown muffins and Ballast Hills Brown Ale, created with Brinkburn St Brewery.

The evening also recognised the project’s 2026 Newcastle University Engagement & Place Award for Engaging for Cultural Benefit. The final theme, protection, looked ahead to the continuing need for research, documentation, partnership working, and long-term care.

We are grateful to everyone who attended and to all those who contributed their time, knowledge, creativity, and support.

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Celebrating Curiosity at Ballast Hills

The Ballast Hills Burial Ground project will mark the close of the current AHRC Curiosity Award funding period with a Celebrating Curiosity gathering on Monday, 15 June 2026. Although this particular funding period is coming to an end, work at Ballast Hills will continue through further research, volunteering, public engagement, and partnership activity.

The evening is open to everyone with an interest in Ballast Hills, local history, heritage, poetry, music, community research, or the wider stories connected with the burial ground. Whether you have volunteered, attended previous events, followed the project online, recently heard about the site, or are simply curious to learn more, you are warmly invited to join us.

The programme will include music and poetry from Maurice Condie, Marina Dodgson, and Harry Gallagher, who will share selections from Beneath This Ground. Myra Giesen, Project Lead, will provide an overview of the project and its achievements, alongside special acknowledgements and time to chat, reconnect, and meet others interested in the project.

The celebration will also include the launch of Ballast Hills Brown Ale, honouring brewing histories connected with the site.

Date: Monday, 15 June 2026
Time: 17:30 to 20:30
Arrival from: 17:00
Location: Brinkburn St Brewery, Ouseburn, NE6 1NW

This is a free event, but booking is essential. Book your free ticket here: Celebration of Curiosity

Light snacks, cake and fruit will be provided, while drinks will be available to purchase from the bar. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, with the option to visit Ballast Hills Burial Ground (it is diagonally across the street) before the main event and spend time at the site.

Please feel free to invite a friend, forward the invitation, or share the registration link with anyone who may be interested.

All are welcome.

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New Funding to Redevelop the Ballast Hills Explorer’s Guide

The Ballast Hills Burial Ground project has received a new award from the Newcastle University Catherine Cookson Foundation to redevelop the Ballast Hills Explorer’s Guide.

The award creates a new strand of activity following the AHRC Curiosity Award and supports the continued development of learning and engagement resources for the burial ground.

The current Explorer’s Guide encourages visitors to investigate Ballast Hills through observation, questions, clues, and activities. The redevelopment will draw on experience gained from using the guide with Scouts, families, community groups, and other visitors, alongside new research and site recording completed through the wider project.

The work will review what should remain, what needs to change, and what may be missing. It will consider the guide’s content, activities, layout, clarity, accessibility, and suitability for different ages, with the aim of producing a more engaging and useful resource for exploring the burial ground.

We expect to have a beta version ready for visitors to try during Heritage Open Days on 19 September 2026. Feedback gathered on the day will help us to identify any final changes before the guide is completed.

People do not need to wait until September to contribute. Anyone who has used the current guide can share their experience now, including what worked well, what was unclear, and what they think should be retained or changed. People can also join a focus group or download the current Explorer’s Guide, try it, and send us their feedback.

We would particularly welcome comments on whether the guide:

  • helps you to understand the burial ground;
  • makes the site interesting and easy to explore;
  • works for different age groups;
  • includes suitable activities and information;
  • raises any access or usability issues.

Feedback will help us to redevelop the guide as a clearer, more engaging, and more useful resource for future visitors.

Anyone who would like to provide feedback, join a focus group, or ask a question can contact Myra at ballast.hills@newcastle.ac.uk.

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Spring 2026 Newsletter Now Available

The Ballast Hills Burial Ground Spring 2026 Newsletter is now available, and it is one of our fullest updates yet.

This issue looks back over a busy start to the year and brings together the many strands of work helping to uncover, care for, and share the histories of Ballast Hills. From cholera, coins, and a colliery explosion to archive discoveries, volunteer reflections, Green Days, public talks, and the Newcastle University Engagement and Place Award win, the newsletter offers a rich snapshot of the project’s recent activity.

The issue also looks ahead to a busy programme of activity in the months to come, including community events, transcription opportunities, volunteering, and plans for Heritage Open Days. We hope it gives a sense of the energy, generosity, curiosity, and care that continue to shape the Ballast Hills Burial Ground project.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue and to the wider project. We are grateful for the time, knowledge, stories, and support that so many people continue to share.

Read the Spring 2026 newsletter here: Ballast Hills Burial Ground Spring 2026

If you missed earlier issues, the full set of Ballast Hills Burial Ground newsletters can be found here.

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BHBG Project wins Engagement and Place Award

We are delighted to share that Ballast Hills Burial Ground has won a Newcastle University Engagement and Place Award in the category Engaging for Cultural Benefit.

The Engagement and Place Awards celebrate the connections, curiosity, and care that shape meaningful engagement between the University, partners, and wider communities. For Ballast Hills, this recognition reflects the collective work of volunteers, students, descendants, local residents, family historians, heritage partners, researchers, and community groups who have helped reconnect the burial ground with the people, histories, and responsibilities it continues to hold.

We were proud to be shortlisted alongside two inspiring projects: From Collections to Climate Change, led by Dr Kristin Hussey and Dr Clare Hickman, and Listening to the Voices of the Rivers, led by Dr Giuliana Borea. Together, the shortlisted projects show the richness of cultural engagement taking place across Newcastle University, from museums and environmental interpretation to Indigenous philosophies, community dialogue, and funerary heritage. More information about the 2026 winners and shortlisted projects can be found on the Newcastle University Engagement and Place Awards page.

This award comes at an important moment. The AHRC Curiosity Award funding that has supported this phase of the project comes to an end in June 2026, but the work will continue. The project has created a strong foundation for future research, interpretation, conservation, and community engagement.

We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to Ballast Hills Burial Ground with such generosity, knowledge, and care. Thank you to our partners, volunteers, supporters, and all those who have shared memories, research, questions, and commitment. This award belongs to the wider community of people helping to make Ballast Hills visible again.

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Ballast Hills Burial Ground Project Shortlisted for Engagement and Place Awards 2026

We are delighted to share that the Ballast Hills Burial Ground (BHBG) project has been shortlisted for Newcastle University’s Engagement and Place Awards 2026 in the category Engaging for Cultural Benefit.

This recognition highlights the central role that engagement has played throughout the project. From the outset, BHBG has brought together local residents, descendants, students, volunteers, and partner organisations to rediscover and reframe one of Newcastle’s most significant, yet often overlooked, historic burial sites. Through archival research, fieldwork, creative activity, and shared learning, the project continues to reconnect people with the histories and meanings embedded in this landscape.

Being shortlisted is a real milestone, and it reflects the collective effort behind the project. A huge thank you goes to everyone who has contributed to making this possible, including our project partners, volunteers, students, and the many individuals and communities who have shared their time, knowledge, and stories. This recognition belongs to all of you.

We will share updates as the awards process continues, but in the meantime, we encourage anyone interested to get involved in the project.

We are also pleased to be launching a new opportunity to take part through Green Days at BHBG, developed in partnership with the Ouseburn Environment Group. These sessions will take place on the first Tuesday of each month, offering a chance to spend time on site, contribute to its care, and learn more about its history in a relaxed and welcoming setting. Further details will be shared in an upcoming post, so please look out for more information soon.