Can you design a '˜beautiful' bench for Berkhamsted cemetery?

Professor Sarah Foot, with Ralph and Henry, sat on her great-grandfathers bench

The Friends of St Peter’s (FoSP) wants to see designs for up to eight benches or a composite scheme for new seating throughout the site.

The anonymous competition, part of the Parks for People restoration project, has been inspired by the restoration of the Seat of Remembrance for Brigadier General Richard Mildmay Foot.

The site currently features an uncoordinated variety of wooden-slatted benches and metal benches along with three left over from a railway station seating renewal programme.

People are invited to design benches from a range of material from brick, flint and timber to newer technologies and styles.

The criteria are that the benches are safe, comfortable, respectful of the surrounding and resistant to environmental damage such as freeze thaw. The deadline is November 18.

James Moir, trustee of FoSP and convenor of the project, said: “We want the seating to become part of the attraction of the cemetery, elevating its sense of being a special place and contributing to the enjoyment of the experience.”

The winners, announced in January, will receive prizes of £1,000, £500 and £250 for the best individual seat designs or £2,000 if a best composite scheme is chosen.

Visit www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk for all you need to know.