Friends of Darwen Cemetery

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Friends of Darwen Cemetery

A Voluntary and Charitable Community Group set up to provide a forum for visitors to participate in discussions and activities regarding Darwen Cemetery.

We aim to Provide a forum for Darwen Cemetery visitors to participate in discussions and activities. Preserve and improve Darwen Cemetery. Promote the historical, environmental and cultural significance of the Cemeteries. Investigate the biodiversity potential for Cemeteries. Communicate its work to elected Council and Board members, other agencies and organisations and members of the community. E

ncourage community participation in our work, especially by the youth of the town. Registered Charity No: 1142815

03/09/2026

Back in Darwen Cemetery this morning.

Autumn is fast approaching and we're noticing some changes already. Planning for our Remembrance Services is under way along with work we need to do over the coming weeks.

Thursday usually sees the widest variety of tasks undertaken with our volunteers choosing what they would like to do. Here's a list of what we did today.

Balsam bashing
Hedge pruning and strimming in the Nature Garden
Pruning back a self-seeded tree growing in a grave partially blocking the road around Section 4
Clearing grass & weeds from path edges around Section 3 & 5
Finished pruning the hedges in the Ashes & Memorial Garden
Tidying the area around the First Burial on Section B

The list of jobs never ends. It just changes with the seasons.🌱🌞🍁❄️

Please follow us to keep updated. Also please consider nominating us for a King's Award for Voluntary Service. Our post from yesterday includes details. Thank you.

02/09/2026

Nominations are now open for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2027!

Across Lancashire, thousands of volunteers give their time, energy and skills to make a difference in their communities.

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is an opportunity to recognise the incredible contribution made by voluntary groups across the county — from supporting local communities and bringing people together, to caring for our environment and helping those who need it most.

Do you know a voluntary group in Lancashire that deserves recognition for the difference they make? Why not nominate them for a King’s Award?

Find out more and make a nomination at kavs.dcms.gov.uk

01/09/2026

Please be vigilant when visiting Darwen Cemetery.

There have been a number of incidents in Darwen Cemetery over recent weeks which have required involvement of the Police.

If you see any people or vehicle(s) you consider suspicious please report to the Police by calling 101 or report to them online. If you see any damage being caused please ring 999.

Please don't assume someone wearing hi-viz clothing has a legitmate reason for being there.

Thank you.

30/08/2026

Yesterday was our 3rd grave maintenance day of 2026. Thankfully the weather forecast ⛈️ was wrong (how strange 🤣) and we stayed dry. After navigating several piles of horse and dog poo (some owners are so disrespectful 🤬) we tended all 40+ graves in the scheme. Afterwards we were treated to homemade cakes & a very welcome brew.☕️🍰

As always a huge Thank You to our grave tenders, bakers, brew makers and everyone that makes FoDC what we are. 👍❤️

Ps - Thank you to all the responsible dog owners who visit the cemetery and clean up after their dog. Those that don't, why? It's a cemetery !!

27/08/2026

Beaten by the weather last week we were determined to get stuff done today. And we did despite the heavy rain coming again.

So what did we do? We pruned back a self-seeded tree partially blocking the road around Section 4, cut the grass on Military section and in Ashes Garden, started pruning one of the hedges around the Ashes Garden, dug out a blocked grate on Section B, pruned some of the shrubs in the Nature Garden and did a little more work on Section K to make it more presentable. Then home to dry off 🤣

A few photos from the Nature Garden added.

Follow us to keep updated on our work.

16/08/2026

We're back !

We've had a short break from Facebook but our work to improve Darwen Cemetery has continued.

So what have we been up to lately? The usual stuff like helping people finding their ancestors' final resting place, reinstating untended graves at the request of families, pruning hedges, tending the Nature Garden and Ashes & Memorial Garden, keeping Section 2 next to Lark Street gates tidy, keeping the Military Section in good order, pruning hedges around the Cross of Sacrifice, with the permission of the family working on the Ashton Memorial to make it easier to look after into the future, making Section C look amazing and so much more.

Thank you to Blackburn with Darwen Cemeteries & Crematorium for arranging large parts of the cemetery to be strimmed over the past couple of weeks. The place looks so much better.

And Thank You to everyone who volunteers with us or supports us in so many different ways. You are all very much appreciated.❤️

05/08/2026

This is our memorial seat to all those people buried in Darwen Cemetery where their final resting place is unmarked. The seat is located in the Ashes & Memorial Garden in Darwen Cemetery.

Unveiled by Andy MacNae MP at a dedication service in April, the bench has attracted attention and comments throughtout the UK and as far as the US. We are truly humbled. 🫶❤️

The seat has spaces for 7 plaques to be engraved.

If you are interested in purchasing a plaque or would like to know more please contact Stevenson Memorials in Blackburn on 01254 202019.

Thank You

06/07/2026

On Saturday we continued work started on Thursday to partially remodel the Ashes & Memorial Garden. This involved removing some if the turf to make it easier for us to mow the grass and keep the Garden looking it's best.

Great care was taken to cause as little disturbance as possible to ashes beds.

We've still some finishing up to do which we'll get completed over the next week or two.

26/06/2026

10 down, 13 to go.

In yesterday morning's heat and after cutting the grass on the Military Section, a few of us decided the only sensible work we could do was prune back the new growth at the base of the lime trees on Lark Street. We were in the shade but it was still uncomfortably warm.🌞

Carrying on what was started last week we've now worked on 10 trees. We'll hopefully get the rest done down to the gates over the next couple of weeks.

Please follow us to keep updated. Can we reach 1000 followers by year end? Hopefully 👍

21/06/2026

Yesterday was our 2nd Grave Maintenance Day of 2026 😃

With the recent wet and warm weather the growing season is in full swing 🌞🌻🌳 and with several of our usual volunteers unavailable, it proved a tough morning for those who did make it. 👏

Working on 42 graves we got the job done and we were rewarded with some fabulous home baking and a brew whilst sat enjoying the Rose Garden in Whitehall Park.🍰☕️

Well done everyone. ❤️ 👏👏👏

Here's just some of the before and after photos.

Address

Darwen
BB32LX

Website

http://www.darwencemetery.org.uk/

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