A character walk in Ryde Cemetery during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, from left, Jill Williams, Ann Barrett as Widow Gawn and Kate MacDonell, the narrator.
WIGHT LIVING A GROUP, which has proved death really is a very live issue, is celebrating ten years of achievement.
Ryde Social Heritage Group (RSHG) is hosting four open days at St Thomas Heritage Centre — the old St Thomas’s Church — in the centre of the town to showcase its achievements and to coincide with National Heritage Open Days.
It was back in 2002 a group of three friends came up with what seemed a dotty idea of recording the inscriptions from the memorials in Ryde Cemetery — 12 acres of one of the best collections of Regency and early Victorian memorials in Britain — and to form a local history group.
At the birthday celebrations between Thursday and next Sunday, September 9, there will be a huge Ryde in Miniature exhibition and talks, drama and musical entertainment included in an events programme to showcase the group’s achievements over the past decade.
They include winning a £22,000 Lottery grant in 2004, which enabled the group to buy equipment for exhibitions, have a website built to contain all the records from the cemetery and research the fascinating lives of the people of Ryde who lie there.
It enabled it to produce educational material, purchase a display case for an interpretation panel and map, which was installed in Ryde Cemetery, and publish a 152-page book on the history of Ryde called Ryde’s Heritage, Our Town, Your Histories.
The group was an integral support to the IW Council’s Ryde Cemetery restoration project, which was jointly funded by the council and by a Heritage Lottery Grant of about £450,000.
That allowed the buildings and some of the memorials and boundaries in the cemetery to be restored and for a place of death to have real life.
RSHG provided much of the research for the new Ryde Cemetery Heritage Trail and produced several cemetery walks and information sheets on the fascinating lives, and often interesting deaths, of many of the people buried there.
Organisers said one of the main objectives of the restoration project was to provide a Heritage and Learning Centre in the North Chapel for people to research their roots and the history of the town.
And that centre is now manned Mondays to Saturdays between 10am and 11.30am by volunteers, which enables people to research their roots for free.
"The centre has a computer suite where Ryde Social Heritage Group’s website is the home page and the databases for graves of all Ryde cemeteries are available," said RSHG chairman Janette Gregson.
The group has also hosted several open days with themed exhibitions and events in Ryde Cemetery and researched and produced a Ryde Heritage Audio Trail, which was launched in May 2010.
Members received training in recording people’s memories by The Living Links project. For ten years local residents have been encouraged to share their memories of Ryde and the group now has an extensive archive of assorted memories of the town in both audio and written format.
Janette said: "Membership of RSHG is open to anyone with an interest in the history of Ryde and costs £12 per year for individuals, £20 for couples or, for a one-off payment of £100, you could become a life member.
"Since 2004, we have had a website — at www.rshg.org.
uk — and it contains maps, records, photographs, articles about the history of Ryde and much more.
"It is often cited as an example of 'best practice’ for other local history groups wanting to set up their own websites.
"Through the website, the group receives enquiries from all over the world and has helped many people research into their ancestors from Ryde."
The initial project of recording information from the headstones in Ryde Cemetery is ongoing and still a few years away from completion — about three-quarters of the cemetery has been transcribed in the decade by a small group of dedicated volunteers, who move from headstone to headstone, deciphering clues made sketchy by time’s erosion.
In addition, the group is now tackling Binstead Cemetery, St Thomas’s Churchyard in Ryde, St John’s Church burial ground and Ashey Cemetery.
The RSHG website now contains more than 12,000 records of individuals from the town.
Janette said: "Just think, this all started and grew from a small group of friends deciding to take an interest in their local cemetery.
"From that initial idea, we have built a successful and flourishing local history group.
"The event in September is going to be fantastic and a wonderful occasion for us to showcase our achievements.
"It is also a great opportunity for people to see inside St Thomas’s Church, a historic and significant building, which is only open on a few days each year.
"We are looking forward to seeing lots of residents and visitors there.
"After the church closed in 1959, it was neglected for many years and fell into a sad state of disrepair.
"In the 1970s, vandals broke in and caused terrible damage. Since then, restoration works have been carried out and the building became available for community, heritage and cultural events.
"When the building was restored, the graveyard was turned into a garden of rest. Sadly, some of the headstones were smashed and used as part of the paving beneath the seats.
"However, by referring to the information board in the garden, you can still locate the graves of some interesting people of the town.
"St Thomas’s Heritage Centre is currently owned by the IW Council but is up for sale, so Heritage Open Days in September could be the last chance for people to see inside the church in its present state."
Highlights of open days
Thursday, September 6
11am to 4pm — exhibition on the history of RSHG, Ryde in Miniature exhibition and displays on many aspects of Ryde’s history.
2pm — Special guest Dr Nick Barratt, editor-in-chief Your Family History magazine, historian, author and broadcaster, will give a short talk and answer questions from the public.
Friday, September 7
11am to 4pm — Ryde in Miniature exhibition and displays on many aspects of Ryde’s history.
Evening — private birthday celebration event with a presentation by Richard Smout. Admission by invitation only.
Saturday, September 8
11am to 4pm and 7pm to 9.30pm — Ryde in Miniature exhibition and displays on many aspects of Ryde’s history
2pm — Meet the Residents, a dramatic portrayal of some of the people from Ryde’s past by members of RSHG
7.15pm — entertainment by Shore Women poetry group followed by The Dollymops performing songs from the Long collection.
Sunday, September 9
11am to 4pm — Ryde in Miniature exhibition and displays on many aspects of Ryde’s history.
12.30pm — Meet the Residents.
2.30pm — present-ation on Union Street by Janette Gregson, chairman of Ryde Social Heritage Group.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk