Hi Thanks for the 'plugs' Liz & Bernice! ... I would like to add some notes about Arnos Vale:- The 'books or remembrance' at Arnos Vale Cemetery are linked to the crematorium which opened on the site in 1928. That crematorium, finally lost its licence in 1998. During 70 years, around 123,000 cremations took place and, upon requested (and payment!), an entry could be inscribed in the book of remembrance. The 'old' book is closed but each day the appropriate page is now on view to those who wish to call in at the West Lodge of the Cemetery on the Bath Road. There is also a new book of remembrance alongside it, available for new entries. Although the crematorium ceased operation in 1998, there continue to be frequent scatterings of ashes in the gardens of remembrance or interments of ashes. The cemetery was saved from having part of it 'developed' as a housing estate by local campaigners. This successful campaign was supported by the local paper (Bristol Evening Post) and the Bristol Council who now own the site. Burials at Arnos Vale Cemetery started in 1839 and there have been about 170,000 of them since then - very few now - although some do still take place in existing graves. As indicated, below, the Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, which manages the cemetery, charges for searches of the records - this fee is likely to increase soon. It is true that the 'Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery' and the Trust have work very hard to ensure the preservation and restoration of the cemetery - made possible by a lottery grant of £4.8m - now spent!! - the place is well worth visit if you are passing by. More money is needed to keep the cemetery going so please be sympathetic towards such things as the charges for searches and the gift shop on the site run by volunteers which hopes to make a profit to support the cemetery. The cemetery extends over about 45 acres. There are other large cemeteries in Bristol - the largest of the older ones are Greenbank, Avonview and Canford but the earliest of these, Greenbank, didn't open until 1871. So if you have ancestors who may have been buried in Bristol between 1839 (more specifically from 1854 when most of the inner city churchyards closed) and 1871 then there is a strong possibility that they would have been buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery. I estimate that approximately 50% (i.e. about 85,000) of the burials at the cemetery occurred in the period 1850 - 1880. Regards Dave Napier Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery Webmaster www.arnsovalefriends.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Liz" <e.newbery@btinternet.com> To: <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 10:43 PM Subject: Re: [B&D] Bad news from the GRO Hi Bernice The Book of Remembrance is a new project at Arnos Vale and you pay to put a relation in it. To obtain details of family graves you pay £23. For those on the list who haven't heard of Arnos Vale, it is the largest cemetery in the area. As most of us know, this was privately owned and the owners were trying to build on the site!! Oh yes. Anyway after a long struggle and a lot of wonderful people fighting for it, the Cemetery was eventually made into a Trust - check the sites http://www.arnosvalefriends.org.uk/ and http://www.arnosvale.org.uk/ Liz www.btinternet.com/~e.newbery OPC for Street, Somerset ----- Original Message ----- From: <Bernpeg@aol.com> To: <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com>; <E.Newbery@btinternet.com> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 10:19 PM Subject: Re: [B&D] Bad news from the GRO >I believe Arnos Vale on the Bath Road at Brislington has a Book of > Remembrance that is opened every day and displays the name of people's > loved ones > on the anniversary of the actual day and month of their burial or > cremation > or perhaps it's the anniversary of the death. I expect this happens in > every large cemetery throughout the country. I believe the Book of > Remembrance > entry has to be paid for by the relatives at about the time of the burial > or cremation. > It's such a shame that some graves can't be found but I understand The > Friends of Arnos Vale are doing a great job in clearing this huge burial > ground. > Bernice > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRISTOL_AND_DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BRISTOL_AND_DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message