Ballast Hills Burial Ground: A Musical Tour

A former non-conformist and paupers’ burial ground, there is an estimated 80,000 people laid to rest at Ballast Hills Burial Ground in Ouseburn. For hundreds of years, the stories of these ordinary and extraordinary individuals have been all but forgotten, sleeping away beneath a calm green park space. However, a collaboration between Phoenix Folk and the BHBG project at Newcastle University has begun to unearth some of these mysteries. Come along for a free musical performance inspired by research into the site’s burial records, and hear the debut of original songs, poems and tales about the printers, singers, clowns, miners, keelmen, children, and glassworkers buried at the site between the 1700s and 1853. You might be surprised by who you discover!

Performance by Harry Gallagher and Phoenix Folk. Harry is a poet based in the North East of England. His poems are full of the natural rhythm of his accent, the invention of his dry northern wit and the conviction of his own truth, not afraid to stand its ground. Phoenix Folk is a music company founded by guitarist and folksinger Maurice Condie and fiddle player Marina Dodgson, who have performed together in folk clubs, events and community settings across the North East.

Read more about Newcastle University's Ballast Hills Burial Ground project on their blog here: https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ballast-hills/

Timings & Tours

Sunday 08 September:

3:30pm

Location & directions

Ballast Hills Burial Groudn, Ford Street, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE6 1NW

Contact on day:

Emily Toth

Telephone number:

+441912616596

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking preferred

Booking conditions:

Please book via the Ouseburn Trust website, at https://ouseburntrust.org.uk/events/

Booking opens:

12 Aug 2024 01:00 PM

Additional information

Max no of people per tour:

50

Est. tour duration:

1 hour(s) 0 minute(s)

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