Irthlingborough Cemetery

The council were keen that the site be kept open in the main, whilst the works were taking place. But it was not practical to fence off huge sections off the cemetery, therefore we just closed sections of the path where we needed to. 

Some of the paths were in reasonably good condition, but with some trips here and there. We did minor repairs where we had to, and prepared these paths for resurfacing. Some of the older paths at the bottom of the cemetery were in such a bad condition that they needed taking out altogether and starting again from scratch. On these paths we excavated the existing tarmac enough for us to be able to construct new paths entirely.

We used 4×1 timber edging for the sides, as new edging kerbs would have been cost-prohibitive. These were fixed at regular intervals with 2×2 posts driven into the ground. Between these we laid geotextile membrane before laying and compacting 100mm of Type 1 Granite.

Our resurfacing contractors of choice, Edwards Surfacing, came to site a week after we started. They laid 60mm of base course in the paths where we had excavated the old, and then topped this with 30mm of 6mm topping. On the paths that were just being resurfaced, Edwards applied a bituminous spray, on top of which 6mm topping was laid. 

With the tarmac work complete and with Edwards having left site, we laid 10mm screened topsoil to both sides of the new paths throughout, and brushed in grass seed to finish. We also undertook some minor repairs within the church grounds as well whilst we were there. 

It was a pleasure to carry out these works for Irthlingborough Town Council, though this is not the first time we have worked for them. A lot of our employees live in Irthlingborough and some have done so forever! So it was a very special job for us, and in beautiful surroundings, despite the time of year, with lovely views across the Nene Valley.