Estate is new site for green graveyard
ANEW ‘green’ graveyard has opened in Adling- ton.
The private 26-acre burial ground on the Adlington Hall estate is owned by local businessman Mark Simpkin and his wife, TV’s Heartbeat actress Tricia Penrose.
It will offer environmentally friendly burial plots in a field of wild flowers where everything, including the coffin, must be biodegradable.
Scores of people including local clergy, funeral directors and the Mayor of Bollington, Allan Williams, enjoyed tea, scones and a guided tour of the site, which Mark, 44, describes as ‘a park’.
The couple, who have two sons, decided to develop the site after buying a redundant church in Bollington five years ago and discovering most of the church graveyards in Macclesfield and surrounding areas were full.
He said: “With many local graveyards full we wanted to create a beautiful, alternative environment so people now have a choice.
“We had loads of posi- tive feedback at the open day.
“As only biodegradable materials are allowed, it won’t tick the boxes for people who want photos and memorabilia around the grave and we understand that, but we wanted to give people the option.”
The site, which has attracted more than 200 enquiries from as far away as America about buying plots, offers people the choice of being buried in wooden or wicker coffins but there must be no metal or varnish. Both the body and ashes burial plots will have memorial plaques made from locally sourced stone and a tree for life scheme will allow people to buy and plant trees.
The couple say they wanted to create somewhere beautiful rather than spooky.
Trish, 46, said: “As a child I found traditional Victorian graveyards scary and unpleasant. We wanted ours to feel like a natural open park, a place to sit, walk and reflect.”
Mark added: “You can’t see any upright stones.
“It’s a park and the wild flowers attract wildlife which makes it a great space to clear your head.”
Bollington funeral director Jeremy Unsworth described the new memorial ground as ‘wonderful’.
He said: “We’ve been very restricted on the options we’ve been able to offer until now as often families want to be laid to rest next to each other.
“It’s super Mark and Tricia have recognised the requirement and invested the time and money to create the park.”