Project / Historic

Arnos Vale Cemetery

The respectful restoration of a Victorian cemetery

Arnos Vale Cemetery was established in 1837 and is one of the earliest private provincial cemeteries in the country. It was designed in the style of a walled Greek Necropolis, with neo-classical mortuary chapels and gate lodges set in a garden of trees and plants.

There are four buildings within the cemetery: two Entrance Lodges and two Mortuary Chapels. Designed by Charles Underwood and built using the finest materials, all four buildings are listed Grade 2*. The high quality of the construction probably saved them from even greater dereliction, given their lack of maintenance over the last two decades of the 20th century.

In the late 1980s, Arnos Vale's income dwindled until the site hit a crisis point in 1998: the Cemetery lost its cremation licence, and the owners announced they were closing the cemetery and locking the gates.

In 2003, Bristol City Council finally acquired ownership of the cemetery and a charitable Trust was set up to protect and restore it. In 2005, the Trust was awarded £4.8m by the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the restoration of the cemetery. Mann Williams was then appointed on the project and became part of the Arnos Vale story.

Project Lead

Neil Lancaster

Location Bristol
Client Bristol City Council
Completion 2010
Value £7m
Size 45 acres

From funerals to weddings

The restored Anglican Chapel is still used for funeral services and wakes but can also be hired out as a flexible space for weddings, conferences and musical performances with an in-house booking office.

Another key element of the restoration project was the repair and conversion of the East Lodge into a shop and visitor centre.

The Raja Tomb challenge

The restoration of the Raja Tomb was particularly challenging in structural terms, as we had to replace the deteriorating stone-clad columns with stainless steel. Extensive temporary works were necessary to prevent redistribution of stresses in the sensitive stone structure.

Photograph courtesy of Richard Goldthorpe

Multi-use conversion

The conversion of the Non-Conformist Chapel into the state-of-the-art Spielman Centre incorporated a modern steel-and-glass entrance pavilion. Like the Anglican Church, the Centre is now multi-use, welcoming funeral services as well as business meetings, training events, school groups and more.