New Road Cemetery

so that they can be viewed at your leisure at home. Unfortunately it is not practical to publish the agenda for Planning Meetings as Notices of Application may arrive up to the time of the meeting and need to be discussed that night in order that a response may be submitted within the 21 days required.

I believe that at long last Vicarage Close is to be resurfaced, which I am sure is very welcome news to the residents of the Close and all who have to use this road. The land between Elm Way and Orchard Surgery is to have the path re-laid due to the surface getting very muddy when wet. Stockbridge Meadows is to have a wheelchair friendly path laid around the edge of the car park along with a new access gate.

After a long hard winter I am sure that we are all looking forward to a really nice summer.

Located to the west of New Road and accessed from Victoria Way (or from Summerhill Lane, the public byway off the top of Water Lane) New Road Cemetery is one of Melbourn’s important recent new landmarks.

Some 12 years ago the Parish Council, concerned about the space limitations of Orchard Road cemetery, had the foresight to precept annually for several years in order to purchase land for a new cemetery. Ultimately this led to the acquisition of a piece of land to the south west of the village, to the west of the Victoria Way development. This beautiful location, opened officially almost three years ago, will provide our burial needs for at least the next 200 years (Orchard Road has done the same for some 150 years!).

Because of its location and proximity to the site of the Anglo Saxon cemetery, rediscovered in 2000, and now Chalkhill Barrow, the designing architect, James Buchanan and our Parish Council decided that a ‘mound’ akin to other local barrows would be an appropriate feature to incorporate within the new cemetery.

Much time and thought was given to the design and layout of New Road Cemetery, simplicity, tranquillity and appropriateness being seen as the most important. As it occupies a sloping south east facing site it was agreed that a ‘lawned’ cemetery would offer the best solution for the years to come.

Trees, shrubs and planted areas will evolve as the cemetery matures although there has been some initial planting to create a sense of structure.

Considerable thought was also given to the format for the entrance, ultimately it was decided to use purpose-designed gates in preference to the traditional lychgate, the final design for which appears below. As mentioned earlier this cemetery is almost adjacent to the Anglo Saxon burial site, so after some investigation the Parish Council commissioned a local (and nationally renowned) sculpture/designer Matthew Sanderson to produce a design for our consideration. He carefully researched the history of Melbourn (thanks largely to the Melbourn History Group books) and worked closely with both Quinton Carroll and Corrine Duhig, both of whom were closely involved with the original excavation and analysis of the burial site. This design incorporates features of both Melbourn’s past and the Anglo-Saxon presence whilst still being relevant to our community in the years to come.

This main entrance, with its arching span over the pair of main gates (which will allow a horse drawn cortege through) comprises features of Melbourn and AngloSaxon culture. To the left hand side there will be a pedestrian side gate (sadly having to be of anti-cycle / motorcycle design), the main entrance gates will normally be locked so on the outside there will be a small car parking area for occasional visitors. The top Summerhouse Lane – Water Lane entrance is currently a stile, this will become a ‘protected’ entrance similar to the existing one at the main entrance.

Thanks to the advice and help from Quinton Carroll we will be amongst one of the only villages in the UK to be allowed to rebury their ancient remains. Our perseverance over this issue (ancient remains have no owner, the state assumes ownership) has been justified and as a result we are initially having a ‘family’ returned to us. This will be a male, a female and a child, their analysis and DNAs having been recorded by Cambridge C.C. Archaeology Department in order to permit their release. Further individual skeletal remains will be released for us as their examinations are completed.

The details of the excavations and analysis of the remains will be placed on record in due course and will be available for all to read through the Magazine and the village web site sometime in the future.

The intention at this stage (remembering the cemetery is non-denominational) is to bury these remains in the ‘mound’. There will be a simple circular smooth pathway ascending to the top of the mound thus allowing access to all. This will lead on to a small flat circular ‘rest and contemplation’ area with two seats and a ‘Trig point’ referring to significant local and surrounding features. At the start of the pathway an information display area will give visitors a brief description and history of how and why the mound came about.

As these details are still being determined there will be further news and articles in the Magazine and on the village web site in due course. If you have kept the early editions of the Melbourn Magazine you will find articles covering this initial discovery and excavation work. Quinton Carroll and Corrine Duhig work in this instance on behalf of Cambridge CC Archaeological Historical Environment Dept. Mike Sherwen