Opening of the Gates

A beautiful day heralding the beginning of Spring, greeted over 40 locals celebrating the Friends of Linwood Cemetery first open day held last month. The cemetery, which is strangely enough, situated in a quite corner of Bromley has been undergoing a transformation over the past few years with much planting and grave repair taking place.

The event was arranged to mark the official "Opening of the Gates" when Community Board Chair Bob Todd and Linda Rutland symbolically pushed open the newly installed gates to signify the renewal of this now treasured community space. Linda Rutland, comments, "It has been incredible how a few women who have rallied around this once heavily vandalised cemetery have now started a community project whose goals for this piece of land are widely shared within the community."

Supporters see this cemetery has a true resource, a place of history, a place to hold events, a place for dog walkers and place for people to use their skills to improve neighbourhood amenity. The Spring celebration included a guided historical tour by renowned cemetery historian, Richard Greenaway. The tour, which proved very popular, was followed by a community planting and barbeque.