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Thursday 28 May 2015

Thameslink Programme breathes new life into a centuries-old graveyard

Region & Route:

| Southern

Staff working on the £6.5bn Thameslink Programme have lent a helping hand to create a new community garden in the Bankside area near London Bridge station.

Volunteers from Network Rail, Costain, Siemens Rail Automation and Balfour Beatty spent a warm spring day working alongside other volunteers from the local community to create a new garden at Crossbones Graveyard. The team built raised planting beds from rubble on the site with some getting the chance to turn their hands to bricklaying for the first time.

The new garden is located on the site of Crossbones Graveyard – a post-medieval unconsecrated burial ground housing the remains of up to 15,000 former residents of the South Bank. The graveyard gates are used as a shrine by local people and are permanently decorated with message, flowers, ribbons and other tokens. The project is being led by Bankside Open Spaces Trust who hope to create a garden for all those who would like to contemplate life in a green environment.

Danny Miller, workplace co-ordination manager for the Thameslink Programme said: “Crossbones Graveyard is at the heart of the community where we’re doing so much work. It’s fantastic to be able to play our small part in creating a space for local people to enjoy.”