About The Project
Whittington Remembers
Whittington’s Garden of Remembrance is a quiet green space in the heart of the village. Once a graveyard, now a place for reflection, memory, and pause – it holds both visible and hidden stories through natural beauty and layers of local history.
This project is about tending the garden as a living space, weaving together practical improvements with tending the history and stories it holds – preserving the past, making the present more inclusive and welcoming, and offering something meaningful for the future.
Thanks to the success of our recent crowdfunding campaign, we’re now moving into the exciting stage of bringing the project to life. With support already secured, we’re working with the community to revitalise the Garden of Remembrance – making improvements, gathering stories, and honouring the history of this special place.
We’d love your support – whether that’s through a donation, sharing the campaign, growing a plant, or offering a story. Together, we can help this place continue to thrive.
What We’re Doing
We’re honouring story and place by weaving together past and present. Together, these two strands – the physical and the remembered – will help breathe new life into the garden and ensure its meaning continues to grow.
Practical Improvements & Gardening
We’re fundraising to improve the physical layout and planting of the Garden of Remembrance, making it more inviting, accessible, and biodiverse.
With your support, we hope to:
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Replace the damaged benches with accessible seating
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Improve the surface the footpaths by topping up the gravel to make them neater and easier to navigate
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Add low-maintenance planting — a mix of pollinator-friendly perennials, annuals, and shrubs, many grown and donated by local gardeners
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Enhance the garden’s year-round beauty with thoughtful planting that supports wellbeing and wildlife
These changes will help make the garden a peaceful and usable space for more people, while reflecting the seasonal rhythms of nature.
Whittington Remembers: History & Storytelling
Alongside the garden work, we’re also creating Whittington Remembers — a digital archive and storytelling project that honours the people, stories, and layers of history held in the space.
We’re fundraising to support:
- Historical research into the graves and people connected to the site
- The creation of a digital archive featuring researched stories, memories, audio recordings, and photographs
- Local storytelling events, open to all generations to share stories about life in the village
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A community exhibition in November 2025 showcasing the stories and research
This part of the project gives people a chance to connect with the past, and with one another, through the sharing of memory, history, and place.
Why it Matters
In a time of rising costs and digital overwhelm, local green spaces have never been more important. They offer calm, connection, and a sense of belonging, especially when they’re well-tended and thoughtfully used.
The Garden of Remembrance has suffered from lack of resource and regular care, but it remains deeply valued by the community.
By improving the garden and gathering its stories, we’re doing something simple but significant: helping people feel part of a living village, connected not just to each other but to the land and its layers of meaning.
We’re also preserving the history of the space through the stories of the gravestones and the people connected to them, and the events remembered by the community, so these treasured memories are not lost to time.
This project allows us to step forward as a community and say: this matters. It’s a small, quiet act of stewardship, for nature, for heritage, and for each other.
Honouring the Stories
As we work on the physical garden, we’re also building Whittington Remembers – a digital archive and community exhibition celebrating the stories connected to the space.
From local memories of fire-damaged cherry trees to the names on gravestones and the lives they represent, this project brings together everyday recollections, village lore, and historical research.
We hope the exhibition will take place in November 2025, bringing these stories to life through images, print, and community participation.
How You Can Support the Project
Donate to the Campaign
Every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to making the garden more accessible, beautiful, and meaningful for the whole community.
Share a story or memory
Share something about the garden, the village, or someone remembered there — your voice helps build a living archive for generations to come.
Grow or donate a plant
Whether it’s a tray of seedlings or a favourite perennial from your garden, your green-fingered gift will help fill the space with colour and life.
Share the project
Spread the word to friends, neighbours, and local groups — the more people who know, the more chance we have of success.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions.
Is this the same as the volunteer gardening project?
Not exactly. The Spacehive project is about fundraising for physical improvements and the storytelling work. The gardening volunteer group will continue to support the long-term care of the garden alongside this work.
What happens after the project finishes?
The new planting will remain, the benches will be in use, and Whittington Remembers will continue to grow — a living resource for years to come.
What kind of stories are you looking for?
We’re gathering personal memories, historical details, and everyday stories connected to Whittington, especially those linked to the garden, the church, or village life. It could be a memory of a loved one, something passed down through family, or a moment you’ve witnessed yourself. Short or long, simple or significant, if it means something to you, it’s worth sharing.
Who is the exhibition for?
Everyone! We hope to welcome local residents, families, schoolchildren, history lovers, and anyone interested in community life in Whittington.
Is this a one-off project or something ongoing?
This project is just the beginning. While the crowdfunding campaign supports a specific phase of improvements and storytelling, our hope is to continue tending the garden and collecting local history over time, with the community at the heart of it.
What happens if you don’t hit the crowdfunding target?
If we don’t reach our full target, we won’t receive the matched funding from Crowdfund Shropshire. Any money raised will still be used for practical improvements in the garden, like paths and planting, but we may need to scale back elements like the digital archive or exhibition.