The Friends of Highland Road Cemetery are campaigning to protect and restore this key part of Eastney's history. Thomas Ellis Owen designed and laid it out in 1854.

On a walk along its paths, you'll make all sorts of interesting discoveries. The brewers, the Duprees have a mock Egyptian temple. Mrs. George Fox, awarded the Royal Red Cross for members of the nursing service for gallantry in the field, the first chairman of the Portsmouth School Board, builders, soldiers, seamen, churchmen, landladies, Charles Dickens' mistress, children.. all are buried there. It's a crowded guide to Portsmouth's history from the mid nineteenth century to the present.

The Society became interested in the future of the Superintendent's Lodge, which is empty and boarded up, prior to sale. We and the Friends believe it should remain as a house for someone whose job is to look after this precious and historic area of open space. Young people gather here, and some are seriously damaging the memorials. Roger James persuaded the Property Service to repair the leaking downpipe which was damaging a wall of the house, but we have not yet reversed the decision to sell.

The Friends are planning to arrange guided tours of the cemetery for Heritage Open Days 12-15 September. We are encouraging them to apply for grants to restore the cemetery - for example from the Onyx Trust under the Landfill Tax Credit scheme administered by the Portsmouth and South East Area Partnership, which has a category for Maintenance of Parks and Public Amenities and another for Repair, restoration and maintenance of churches and historic buildings. They will need the help of a landscape architect to draw up a restoration plan, as was done for St. James's Hospital. There are also national campaigns such as Save our Sculpture by the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association which has instituted the first survey of public art.

The National Recording Project currently carries records online for 70% of Britain. There's also a Green Pennant Award recognising high standards of green spaces managed by local, voluntary and community groups administered by the Civic Trust. We look forward to helping the Friends to achieve their aims.

Celia Clark