Ballast Hills Burial Ground (BHBG) in Newcastle upon Tyne is a historic, Nonconformist burial site, active from the early 1600s to 1853. Located between Byker and the Ouseburn, it is the final resting place for over 40,000 individuals, including marginalized groups such as the poor, unnamed, unbaptised, suicide victims, and epidemic victims. Over the centuries, BHBG has largely been erased from public consciousness, with most gravestones removed and only a few re-erected. Today, the once-gated burial ground is a flattened green space, serving as a quiet testament to its rich yet forgotten past.
The BHBG project has garnered multiple funding awards, supporting initiatives from the initial development of a life register of individuals buried there to creating original music and poetry specific to BHBG. The latest funding from the AHRC Curiosity Award backs an 18-month project (July 2024 to December 2025) that integrates expertise from history, library and information studies, human geography, and archaeology. This phase emphasizes public engagement and co-production, aiming to enhance resource accessibility, collate stakeholder interests, and uncover BHBG’s historical significance.
Over the 18-month period, the project has three primary aims: enhancing BHBG resource accessibility through a comprehensive audit and gravestone inscription inventory; creating a stakeholder map to inform a community engagement plan which includes local communities, communities of interest, and descendant communities; and conducting a desk-based assessment to appraise BHBG’s cultural and historical significance. This initiative is part of a broader effort to honour BHBG’s history and make its information accessible to the public, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of this significant heritage site.
