🌿 Year 5 Step Back in Time at Longden Road Cemetery 🌿
Year 5 enjoyed a truly fascinating visit to Longden Road Cemetery, where history, nature and storytelling came together beautifully. 🕊️🌳 Working with the Friends of Shrewsbury Cemetery, the children took part in a special history workshop.
We began with a quiz about the cemetery, designed by local architect Samuel Pountney Smith, before pupils set off with a cemetery plot grid to explore and locate monuments linked to real people from the past.
📜 Along the way, we uncovered powerful stories—some sad, some uplifting—that brought history to life. From poet Mary Webb, to Julia Hornblower, one of the UK’s first female doctors; from George Williams, a young orphaned WWII pilot who flew Hurricane Bombers in Canada and tragically lost his life at just 18, to Annie Caddick, a famous music hall performer who toured across Europe. 🎭✈️
🎵 We were intrigued by the symbols carved into the gravestones, telling us about people’s lives. Annie Caddick’s grave, for example, features a harp, marking her life as a musician.
🌼 Longden Road Cemetery is a remarkable place—full of history, beautiful trees and wildlife. Designed with ornate paths and winding trails, it was created as a commemorative garden of remembrance. With around 6,000 monuments, it is the resting place of approximately 60,000 people, making it a place of reflection, learning and respect.
💚 A huge thank you to the Friends of Longden Road Cemetery for this wonderful partnership. We are learning so much and look forward to many more meaningful experiences together!