The Ballast Hills Burial Ground Project began with research led by Dr Myra Giesen in 2019 and has developed through a sequence of pilot awards, university funding, partnership support, and a major Arts and Humanities Research Council award.
Each award has supported a different part of the wider effort to research, care for, curate, and share the burial ground, its archive, and its stories.
Newcastle University Catherine Cookson Foundation, 2026
The Newcastle University Catherine Cookson Foundation is supporting the redevelopment of the Ballast Hills Burial Ground Explorer’s Guide.
The funding allows us to review and improve the guide’s content, activities, layout, accessibility, and suitability for different age groups. A revised version will be tested with visitors and community groups before the final guide is completed.
Supported activity: research, consultation, testing, design, and production of the revised Explorer’s Guide.
Arts and Humanities Research Council Curiosity Award, 2024 to 2026
The Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Rediscovery and Reimagining.
The award supported the main research and engagement phase of the project. This work included archival research, gravestone recording, archaeological and geophysical investigation, volunteer participation, creative activity, public events, assessment of the burial ground’s significance, and planning for its future.
The award helped to connect evidence from the site, the archive, and the stories of people associated with Ballast Hills. It also provided the foundation for the wider programme of work that continues through other funding streams and partnerships.
Recognition: the work supported through the Curiosity Award received Newcastle University’s Engagement and Place Award 2026 in the Engaging for Cultural Benefit category. The award recognised the shared contribution of volunteers, descendants, students, local historians, artists, community partners, university colleagues, and site users who helped to make Ballast Hills more visible as a place of cultural value.
Supported activity: research, recording, engagement, significance assessment, and planning for the future of the burial ground.
Newcastle University Centre for Heritage, 2024
Newcastle University’s Centre for Heritage, now part of the Heritage NUCoRE, supported Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Life Register Website Proof-of-Concept.
This exploratory work considered how burial records, gravestone information, and biographical research could be connected and made more accessible. It also identified challenges relating to volunteer-generatd data, data management, and public access that continue to shape the project’s digital development.
Supported activity: exploratory digital development and assessment of future data-access needs.
Newcastle University HaSS Research Institutes Fund, 2023 to 2024
The Newcastle University HaSS Research Institutes Fund supported Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Project Expansion.
This award helped to maintain the project’s momentum following the earlier Pioneer Award. It supported further historical research, the development of partnerships and community engagement, increased public visibility, and preparation for the next stage of funding.
The work also helped to strengthen links with Newcastle University colleagues, Newcastle City Council, the Ouseburn Trust, community organisations, and other stakeholders. It contributed to the development of biographies, public activities, volunteer research opportunities, and plans for future project growth.
Supported activity: historical research, partnership development, community engagement, public visibility, and preparation of further funding applications.
Newcastle University HaSS Research Institutes Pioneer Award, 2023
A Pioneer Award supported the early development of Rediscovering Ballast Hills Burial Ground.
The award helped to define the project’s research questions, identify potential partners, assess the available evidence, and develop the larger programme of work that followed.
Supported activity: project development, partnership building, and preparation for future research.
Ouseburn Trust and Newcastle City Council, 2022
The Ouseburn Trust and Newcastle City Council supported Ballast Hills Burial Ground: Ground-Penetrating Radar and Structured-Light Scanning Pilot Survey.
The funding supported initial investigation of the burial ground and helped to test approaches for recording and understanding the site. This early work contributed to the development of later archaeological, digital, and research activity.
Supported activity: pilot research, site survey, and early archaeological investigation.