21-24 June
The story so far
You probably know by now that we’re having a Flower Festival from 21st – 24th June this year. On 26th June 1812 the Bishop of London* consecrated a field that was to become the Additional Burial Ground – an overflow from the churchyard which, extended in 1750, was too full to accommodate Hampstead’s growing population. Well, dying population really. Hampstead had been a fashionable place to be buried – ‘A Tomb with a View’ was what everyone wanted and the generosity of the church in allowing Londoners to end their lives here meant they ran out of space. The records seem to hint that this generosity was in shorter supply when the new burial ground was opened and not quite so many non-parishioners were allowed. This has the advantage of making the ABG, as it came to be known, a much better record of local history than the old churchyard and it’s this local community aspect that the Schools Project attached to the Festival has tapped into.
Schools Project
Seven local schools are taking part in a local history project to be worked on during the term and presented at the Festival. A team of researchers from the parish has helped put together a teachers’ pack based on 15 people buried in the ABG [you’ll have to come to the Festival to find out which 15 they chose].
To encourage the schools and make it possible for those with restricted budgets to take part we’ve done this without charging them, raising the money ourselves to cover the costs [not huge because all the researchers have given their time free].
How you can help
So far so good, but it does mean we have to find money to pay for the flowers which are, after all, at the heart of the festival: no flowers = no flower festival. In last month’s magazine we launched a sponsorship scheme, inviting members of the congregation to sponsor a flower arrangement in memory of a loved one. Responses started coming in immediately. We’ve set a budget of £60 per arrangement and have 12 out of 32 arrangements still available for sponsorship.
If you would like to sponsor an arrangement your name or the name of the person you are commemorating would be put next to the arrangement.
Please contact Judy East [email protected] / 0207 267 9339 or c/o her tray in the vestry.
Judy East
Flower Festival Coordinator
* The Right Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, has accepted our invitation to come and preach at Evensong on Sunday 24th June.
A Tomb with a View – Flower Festival 2012
Judy East