New library exhibit features cemetery and John Adams Memorial

Buy photos » The exhibition is on display until the end of the month. s

AN INFORMATIVE exhibition on Bromsgrove Cemetery and its centrepiece, the John Adams Memorial, has gone on display at the town's library, Stratford Road, until the end of December.

Some of the photographs depict gravestones of historic figures buried in the cemetery, while others show the site's original buildings. There is also a history of the 1858 burial site and of John Adams himself.

Other interesting subjects covered by the exhibition include the origins of the Perry Hall estate and John Adams and his connections with the Housman family.

The collection has been put together by The John Adams Memorial Restoration Group, which comprises Avoncroft Museum, the Bromsgrove Society, the Housman Society, the Victorian Society (Midlands group) and Bromsgrove District Council.

The group is currently working together to restore the five-metre memorial to its former glory and put it back where it belongs - at the centre of the cemetery.

It was taken down in 2007 due to health and safety concerns, but now, more than £33,000 towards the cost of repairing it has been donated by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and there is just a £500 shortfall for campaigners to find.

The John Adams Memorial Restoration Group is also researching the graves in the cemetery with the aim of producing an historic trail, both on paper and online. That will also feature information about the many unusual trees boasted by the site, some of which are older than the cemetery itself.

For more on the project, call Jennie McGregor-Smith on 01527 872422 or e-mail jennie@mcgregor-smith.com.

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