The cemeteries at Shiloh (Google Maps) and Llanwnog (Google maps) are important places of remembrance for families across our community. They are peaceful spaces where loved ones are remembered, but they are also part of the history and heritage of Caersws and the surrounding area.
Caersws Community Council is responsible for managing and maintaining these cemeteries on behalf of the community. This includes overseeing burials, maintaining the grounds, ensuring memorial safety, and keeping accurate burial records for future generations.
Llanwnnog is the current burial ground. Shiloh cemetery is no longer open for burials
Both cemeteries are open to visitors throughout the year and provide a quiet place for reflection, remembrance and connection with our local history.
Managing a cemetery involves much more than simply maintaining the grass and paths. The Community Council carries out a range of responsibilities including:
- Maintaining cemetery grounds and pathways
- Managing burial and cremation plot records
- Approving and regulating memorial headstones
- Ensuring memorials remain safe and stable
- Keeping burial registers and cemetery plans up to date
- Coordinating burials with funeral directors and clergy
The council also manages the allocation of burial plots and maintains official records for interments and memorials.
Work Currently Underway
The Community Council is currently undertaking several projects to ensure the cemeteries remain safe, well organised and accessible for future generations.
Cemetery Mapping Project
Work is underway to create accurate maps of graves within both cemeteries.
This project involves reviewing historical burial records and mapping grave locations so that families and visitors can more easily locate graves. In the future this work may also allow burial records to be made available digitally.
This mapping work will help preserve important local records and ensure accurate information is available for years to come.
The mapping information will be available on our website once we completed the work and will be regularly updated
Regular Safety Inspections
The council also carries out regular cemetery inspections and risk assessments.
These inspections help identify issues such as:
- unstable memorials
- sunken graves
- vegetation or access issues
- maintenance requirements.
Where necessary the council arranges repairs or works to ensure the cemeteries remain safe for visitors.
Improving Information for Visitors
New information boards and signage have been installed to help visitors understand:
- cemetery regulations
- memorial rules
- how to contact the council regarding burial records or memorials.
Respecting the Cemeteries
Our cemeteries are shared spaces of remembrance and reflection. Visitors are kindly asked to help preserve their peaceful nature by following a few simple guidelines:
- Please keep dogs on leads
- Do not interfere with graves, memorials or flowers
- Only living plants or real flowers should be placed on graves
- Please help keep the area tidy and respectful.
These simple steps help maintain the dignity and character of these important places.
Recent Work at Llanwnog Cemetery
Over the past week, members of Caersws Community Council have been on site at Llanwnog Cemetery carrying out a community clean-up.
This has included the removal of litter and the respectful clearing of old and discarded floral arrangements to ensure the cemetery remains a tidy and dignified place for visitors.
In preparation for the Easter period, our contractor Andrew Evans has also attended the site to complete grass cutting, mowing and strimming across the cemetery.
This work helps ensure the grounds remain:
- well presented
- safe and accessible
- respectful for families visiting loved ones
Supporting Nature and Biodiversity
As part of our ongoing work, the Community Council is also taking steps to support local wildlife and biodiversity within the cemeteries.
In selected areas, grass is intentionally left uncut to encourage natural growth and provide habitats for insects and wildlife. We are also in the process of establishing a wildflower meadow, which will help support pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
These areas are carefully managed to balance the needs of visitors with the importance of creating a more environmentally sustainable space
We would like to thank all councillors and our contractor for their time and effort in maintaining these important community spaces.
A Place of Local History
Llanwnog cemetery sits beside St Gwynog’s Church, one of the historic churches in the area. The church contains one of the oldest carved wooden screens in Wales and is the burial place of the Welsh poet John Ceiriog Hughes, writer of the famous song Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night).
Many generations of families from Caersws and the surrounding villages are remembered within these cemeteries, making them an important part of the heritage of our community.
Shiloh Wesleyan chapel was opened as a chapel in 1847 (Eric Edwards); it was sold as a secular building in 1875, and subsequently known as 1 and 2 Shiloh Cottages, now Shiloh Cottage. It was a lateral entry chapel (cf. with old Wesleyan chapel, Tre-ddol, Ceredigion) with a small adjoining chapel house with the same roofline. Now one house. It has cream-painted stone walls; cambered heads to openings: an entry with flanking windows, and is 2 storeys. There is a joint between the chapel and the single-fronted chapel house. There is a gable entry to the road with cream-painted corrugated metal cladding
Helping Preserve Our Local Heritage
The Community Council is committed to maintaining these cemeteries with care and respect for future generations.
If residents have historic photographs, information about graves, or stories connected to the cemeteries, we would be very interested to hear from you as part of preserving the history of our area.
Details of the regulations and burial costs can be found here: https://caerswscommunitycouncil.co.uk/cemeteries/
Please Contact: clerk@caerswscommunitycouncil.co.uk for any queries or questions
Website: www.caerswscommunitycouncil.co.uk
