A groundbreaking churchyard mapping project has been launched in our diocese this week.
All Hallows, Kirkburton and Emmanuel, Shelley two churches near Huddersfield, received a Sharing Heritage grant of £6,100 in March 2018 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the pilot project focused on their two churchyards.
This is now the first project of its kind in the UK to go live and genealogists, historians and interested parties will benefit greatly from easy online-access to search for information.
Atlantic Geomatics (UK) Ltd digitally mapped the historic churchyards at Kirkburton and Shelley.
Volunteers from the churches and local history group were trained to take high-quality photographs of approximately 6000 memorials, which are now linked directly to the memorial location on the map.
The burial registers were scanned and the volunteers transcribed the text in the registers onto the portal, linking them to the images and map.
The Ven Dr Anne Dawtry, Archdeacon of Halifax launched the project at both churches this week at two well-attended events.
Sylvia Johnson, who chaired the volunteer group behind the project said:
“It has been a fascinating period and very rewarding to see how the volunteers have worked with Atlantic Geomatics: putting in so much hard work and effort in all weathers photographing the memorials in both churchyards, and transcribing Burial Registers with old style handwriting and letter formation!” Said Sylvia, pictured far right, at the launch with Tim Viney of Atlantic Geomatics (UK) Ltd (centre) and David Pearson, Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire (far left).
“I have been involved with both Kirkburton and Shelley churches since the summer of 2017 and together with the volunteer group I am delighted to bring the National Heritage Lottery funded pilot project to its fitting conclusion this week at the launch of the Burial Ground Management System portal.
“The team deserve an enormous thank you as their work will benefit so many different people locally, nationally and even internationally.”
The direct links for the two sites are as follows:
www.kirkburton.burialgrounds.co.uk