Background
At the CBCE conference in June 2023, The Columbaria Company engaged in a discussion with David Hall from Harwood Park Crematorium, Stevenage. Initially the conversation was surrounding our ''Ivy Frieze'' (pictured right) memorial which we were showcasing, soon to be installed at Bath Botanical Gardens.
The core idea behind the ivy and our other friezes is that they are decorative income generating memorials designed to maximise plaque space whilst minimising floor space. They are a simple, but high ROI fixture suitable indoors or outdoors.
David loved the concept but desired a memorial that could be viewed as a 3D experience. He was looking to install such a memorial on an existing strip of land that followed a curve. The memorials were to be installed to compliment a large area set aside for natural burials, acting as an alternative remembrance option to traditional granite.
Our Creative Design Team then suggested the idea of a metal ''hedge'' to meet this brief taking the idea of a frieze and making it three dimensional. David was very receptive and liked the idea. Thus, the ''Harwood Hedge'' was born.
Design Proposal
Several weeks after the conference, David Beasley (CAD & Garden Designer) visited Harwood Crematorium to survey the area of the proposed hedge whilst also looking at several other areas that could potentially be re-developed as memorial gardens.
Upon his return, David undertook desk research and produced a simple 3D concept drawing (see left) to brief Alan Clough (Memorial Artist/Designer) who, along with Izzy Hebb (Creative Design Assistant) would take this inital concept throught the sketch design phase to a digitised technical drawings for manufacture at our local steelwork fabricators right here in Hull.
An important element to this design was to maximise the memorial space on the hedge. The final product design has spaces for up to 400 memorial leaves utilising all four faces. Designed alongside this project, our sandy-brown anodised aluminium leaves perfectly suited the design inspiration of a beech hedge.
The inital design proposal was for a hedge that was approx. 2.9m wide x 0.4m deep x 1.5m high constructed from laser-cut aluminium and polyester powder-coated to a RAL colour to be agreed with Harwood Park. A key feature of the plan was the front and rear faces to have a curve, complimenting the shape of the fixing location.
The proposal was well recieved by Harwood Park Crematorium and they gave the go-ahead to produce the hedge, aptly named the "Harwood Hedge" as a nod to our collaborative project.
Memorial Installation
The inital hedge was installed at Harwood Park Crematorium in February 2024 on to a purpose reinforced concrete pad foundation (please note: The Columbaria Company does not install foundations). The visible surface of the concrete was hidden underneath a layer of plum slate mulch to match other memorials found on site.
Our dedicated team of fixers delivered the hedge to the site and worked with the groundskeeping team to install the memorial on site onto a foundation that had been laid and set prior to installation.
This hedge accommodated 400 anodised aluminium memorial leaves and was first of several to be installed in the future, eventually creating an ''avenue'' either side of a central grass footpath.
When a new leaf has been inscribed and is ready to be fixed onto the hedge, they are simply screwed into the pre-drilled holes. The fixing of leaves onto the memorial was carefully considered so autonomous fixing without our team having to be present is possible.
Subsequent Optional Design Improvements
At the 2024 ICCM Learning Conference and Exhibition, The Columbaria Company exhibited a ''Harwood Hedge'' featuring optional animal characters welded to the interior of the hedge, giving another engaging dimension to the overall memorial.
We decided to add these in as part of our ongoing efforts to help people, especially children, see memorial spaces as a more inviting and less formal space. In the exhibited Harwood Hedge there are various birds and hedgehogs (see below) but designs have been drawn for other hedge-dwellers such as foxes, squirrels and badgers. These can be personalised to your suggestions (maybe there's a cat that hangs around your crematorium that everybody loves!).
Customer Feedback
"At Harwood Park Crematorium, we wanted to create a unique memorial that would complement our memorial gardens. The concept was to create a bespoke 3D beech hedgerow with engravable leaves. I approached the design team at The Columbaria Company, at the CBCE conference. They were so professional throughout, from taking my rough drawings and concept, through the design, to the installation.
We have received many positive comments, about the memorial hedge and this has given numerous families, the opportunity to commemorate their loved one, by having an inscribed leaf. I look forward to working with The Columbaria Company on future projects. Thank you to you all."
David Hall, Crematorium Superintendent Registrar
