The friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries [FKWC] is a non-profit making volunteer organisation established in 2004 to promote, protect and restore initially Key Hill cemetery but later both Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries.
At the Annual General Meeting an Executive Committee is elected to conduct the day to day activities of the Association.
The group was formed as The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery in 2004 by a small group of people who were concerned at the visible deterioration of the cemetery and alarmed at the potential loss of an important part of Birmingham’s heritage. The group expanded in 2009 to ensure that Warstone Lane Cemetery was also properly protected.
The Friends’ main objectives are the refurbishment, maintenance and preservation of the cemetery together with researching, informing, educating and involving the local community in the ongoing work and projects in the two cemeteries.
To achieve this the Friends work closely with Birmingham City Council, Bereavement Services and other departments of the City Council as well as agencies such as The Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership, The Jewellery Quarter Association, English Heritage and with local community groups and schools.
Current projects include:-
Open Day – an annual ‘Open Day’
Maintenance – Regular clean-up sessions
Recording – All existing memorial inscriptions are being transcribed
Research – Research into the history of the cemeteries and those buried there
War Memorials – Recording and preserving the many memorials to the fallen
The Friends can:-
Arrange speakers to talk about the cemetery to clubs, Societies, Schools etc.
Organise conducted tours of the cemetery for groups or individuals
Help tidy and care for individual plots for owners
By becoming a member you:-
Support the Friends in protecting the cemeteries
Receive a quarterly newsletter
Receive information about events and projects
The Friends of Key Hill & Warstone Lane Cemeteries need:-
Volunteers to help with projects and develop new initiatives
Help with organising display material and producing information
Fund raising to enable individual monuments to be restored.