Stories of the Stones
We’re a community group looking to revitalise the Elswick and Westgate Hill Cemeteries in the West-End of Newcastle.
Get Involved
Contact either Julie or Don at:
We’d love to hear about your stories or meet you at one of our regular community hubs at the West End Library.
Blog & Updates
Garden Party at West Lodge
Project volunteer Kay, kindly invited the core Stories of the Stones group to West Lodge at St John's Cemetery for a garden party this week. We celebrated the achievements of the project so far with sandwiches, tea and cake. We also did a bit of work to plan what will...
Blueprints of Elswick
Cyanotype image by Pam Royale Cyanotype workshops in the sun at St John's Cemetery The summer sun finally made a showing at St John's Cemetery two mornings in June for cyanotype workshops led by Stories of the Stones artist Julie Ballands. Nature has been an...
Stories of the Stones Launch Event – A night of memories, poetry, photos and music
Residents and those with connections to the West End of Newcastle gathered at a celebration event at the John Marley Centre, Scotswood to launch the Stories of the Stones poetry book and website. Members of local history group, Stories of the Stones presented memories...
Poetic Memories of the WestEnd
Local residents write poetry to explore their memories of growing up in the WestEnd The Stories of the Stones group tried their hand at writing poetry, celebrating memories of growing up in Newcastle's WestEnd. The group of local residents having been meeting weekly...
The fascinating history of St John’s Cemetery.
Residents of the West End took part in a historic tour of St John’s Cemetery to find about the lives of those buried there. Last week, a group of residents who live or grew up in the West End of Newcastle took part in a historic tour of St John’s Cemetery. The event...
Locals discover their families’ history
A group of Westend residents start journey to find out more about the lives of those buried at their local cemetery Though we have already run two drop-ins, last Monday was officially the first weekly Stories of Stones activity session at Westend Library in Benwell....
How to Submit a Story
We're currently working towards getting a submissions portal up. In the meantime, please contact either Julie Ballands (julieballands@gmail.com) or Donald Jenkins (bornlippywordy@gmail.com) and they'll be able to help you get involved. We're excited to hear from...