A £1.7m project to restore several historical sections of London Road Cemetery has been completed.
The work has seen repairs to the Anglican Chapel, removing and replacing damaged stones, cleaning and repairing the weathervane and iconic rose window, and new lighting and heating installed.
New metal gates and a balustrade which resembles the original features have been installed at the carriageway entrance and other restoration works include repair works to the Jewish Chapel, the 1871 mortuary room, the Bier Store and Paxton monument.
The cemetery is Grade I listed, with many of its buildings being Grade II listed, and was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton in the 1840s at the height of his career. Paxton used a rich variety of trees and plants, including trees he had brought back from a trip to the Americas. Historic England recognises London Road Cemetery as one of the top five historic cemeteries in the country.
The improvement works came in thanks to a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £1.7m, alongside a grant award from Wolfson Foundation, with the work being delivered by Midland Conservation Ltd. Parks for People was a programme run by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund, which invested £254m in the regeneration of national, regional and local public parks and cemeteries for the benefit of local communities.