A new botanic burial ground has opened in Ickleford enabling the first burials in the village for nearly 30 years.
VILLAGERS will be able to bury their loved ones within their parish for the first time in decades after a new burial ground was opened.
Ickleford residents can now lay their relatives to rest in the village after an �80,000 conversion of a former hay field into a garden cemetery. It will enable the first burials in the village since the church graveyard became full nearly 30 years ago.
The Alleyfield site by Chambers Lane has been recreated as a botanic garden with shrubs and trees and a wildflower meadow. It was donated by the Parker family who have been farming in Ickleford since the 17th century.
Colin Thurstance, parish councillor and chairman of the Ickleford Burial Ground Trust charity which will maintain and administer the site, said: “It is the largest project Ickleford Parish Council has ever taken on and it has worked extremely well. The villagers are over the moon - it is looking quite lovely already.”
The six year project was funded by North Herts District Council and the parish council and officially opened by Mrs Dorothy Parker on her 94th birthday.
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