In addition to our usual opening times, the Visitor Centre and cafe will be open on each day of the Easter weekend from 12.30 to 3.30, including Good Friday and Easter Monday.

 As well as our Heritage Team posters, we are pleased to be featuring a display of artwork from the pupils of Hyde Park School.

Our first exhibition of the year begins on Tuesday 12th April in the Visitor Centre and celebrates the lives and works of many of our local artists including Beryl Cook, John Oxley Nash, William Gibbons, Charles Eastlake and many more.

 The tearoom will also be open for hot and cold drinks and homemade cakes.

We look forward to welcoming you.

This year the Ford Park Cemetery Spring Fayre will be on Saturday 9th April.

Doors open at 11.00 until 2.30 with a variety of stalls to tempt you. Homemade cakes, jewellery, books, DVDs, bric-a-brac, tombola and more.

The cafe will be opened to serve hot drinks and snacks.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Seasonal position available

We are looking for someone to assist with interments and general upkeep of the cemetery grounds, Rate of pay is in line with the National Minimum Wage and the position is expected to last until October 2021.

Closing date for applications is 1st May with interviews to be held the following week.

For more information contact the office.

Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy in May 1939 and it was whilst he was at Dartmouth that he first met the Princess Elizabeth.

Plymouth History Festival begins this Saturday 4^th May and Ford Park Cemetery is involved in several events over the first weekend.

Local Studies Day is on Saturday at Plymouth University's Levinsky Building. One of our trustees, Ian Hodgins, will be giving a talk as part of that day. Ian is a very entertaining speaker and tickets for the whole day are still on sale at £5 from the Plymouth University web site.

On Sunday afternoon, starting at 2pm, our Heritage team will be leading a tour of the cemetery on the theme of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem. There is no charge for this event, but donations gratefully received.

Our exhibition on the theme of Accidental Deaths will be open from 12.30 to 3.30 on both Saturday and Sunday and for the next two weeks.

We have further events planned during the whole of the History Festival so check out the Festival brochure, our web site or our Facebook page for updates.

We hope you can come along and join us during May.

Our Exhibition will be closed 23rd April due to a wake in the Visitors Centre.

We apolgise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Despite the chill wind and lack of sun we were pleased to welcome an enthusiastic group to our first public walk of the year.

 Towards the end we were joined by our friendly neighbourhood cat who listened attentively to our speakers.

Thank you to all those who came along.

 
Our next walk is on the first Sunday of the Plymouth History Festival.

Due to illness the Mad Dog Mcrea Concert has been postponed - new date to be confirmed.

Join the Heritage team on Sunday 7 April at 2pm for a guided walk around the cemetery, meet at the Visitors Centre.

Visiting the graves of people who died as a result of accidents involving trams, trains, aeroplanes, bicycles and the sea.

The visitor centre will be open before and after the walk so you can browse the exhibition which tells the stories of accidental deaths in and around Plymouth whilst enjoying a cuppa and some homemade cake.

We look forward to welcoming you to the cemetery.

At 5am this morning 14 hardy souls arrived at the cemetery for our Dawn Chorus event.

Unfortunately, the light wasn’t great for photography but the group were pleased that it stayed dry.

The birds were singing from the start and the chorus grew louder and continued even when it was light at 6am.

The group heard and/or saw 20 species including parakeets and a pheasant.

When the group returned to the Visitor Centre, bacon rolls, prepared by Maggie, were well received. Thanks to Liz Harris for leading the event and Vivien for taking the photos.

Spring flowers and blossom, peace and tranquillity on this glorious Spring day

It is that time of year when keen bird watchers and insomniacs meet at 5am on Saturday 28 April outside the Visitor Centre. 

Wandering the cemetery paths listening to the dawn chorus.

John Boon has led this event for many years but now he has moved further north.

We are pleased to welcome Liz Harris. Liz will be helping those gathered to identify the birds who greet the dawn with their beautiful melodies at this time of year

Over the winter we have been working hard to renovate the Memorial Garden and we think it is now looking better than we have ever seen it.

We hope that you will think so too.

We were very fortunate to receive a grant from Co-op local community fund and Friends of Ford Park Cemetery for this project.

A warm thank you to both.

Another week, another walk.

This week we were visiting the graves of those with connections to Plymouth in 1917-18.

The photo shows some of the group standing close to the Scott family vault as 2018 is the 150th anniversary of Captain Scott's birth.

The memorial stone on the front of the vault has recently undergone renovation thanks to the Devon & Cornwall Polar Society and the Society have a special event planned in June, further details can be found here: http://www.devonandcornwallpolarsociety.org.uk/index.cfm…

This recently announced David Cotter and Sophie Kidwell concert has had to be postponed to a later date in 2018 because Sophie has succumbed to an illness which prevents her singing for at least one month.

All at Ford Park wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to rescheduling this concert when she is well again.

On Sunday 1st April the RAF celebrated 100 years since its formation. To commemorate the occasion Rod Pickles hosted a walk around Ford Park. The stories of some of the 49 airmen buried there were told by Rod. 37 people attended.

There were a few sprinkles of rain at the start and coming up the hill for the last couple of graves it started to rain a little harder, but they all made it back to the Visitor Centre just in time.

Maggie Heath and Alan Bricknell ensured that good order was kept!

The photograph shows Rod Pickles and Group Captain Rick Culver (President of the local RAF Association) laying a wreath on the grave of the 'Unknown Airman.' The wreath was made by Maggie Heath.

This is a late addition to our 2018 events.

David Cotter, classical guitar and Sophie Kidwell, mezzo-soprano will be performing their popular Duo Palatino Recital in the Victorian Chapel on Saturday 21 April at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10. David's concert at the cemetery in 2017 was quickly sold out so if you plan to attend, please contact the office to guarantee your place.

We had our spring Fayre 24th March – the co - Ordinator was Maggie one of our Trustees

Over 300 people came along

A total of £1276.57 was raised.

Breakdown:

Bric a brac.                                  217.26
Craft.                                            272.55
Gardening.                                     95.00
Guess the number of eggs.          13.50
Cakes.                                             89.00
Jewellery.                                         71.10
Name the bear.                               32.00
Raffle.                                               96.00
Half and half.                                   33.00
Chocolate too black.                       76.00
Cafe.                                                 172.16
Pick a lolly.                                         10.50
Soft toys.                                            16.10
Jams.                                                  75.00

If anyone has any new ideas concerning new stalls for ways of raising more money, and cannot make the Events Meetings, please leave your number with the office and we will get back to you.  Alternatively the Craft Group meet every Wednesday from 11 am to 3pm.  Please do not hesitate to pop in and see us.

Well done Maggie and all who helped with this event.

The repair and patching of the tarmac on the Cemetery paths is now complete. Our thanks to Highways Maintenance and to all who donated to the project.