A beautiful new Remembrance Area has opened at Treorchy Cemetery, as Rhondda Cynon Taf Council delivers the promise it made to all grieving residents to open such spaces in all of its cemeteries.
The stunning new area has ornate benches, providing a peaceful place for anyone who wants to sit, reflect, remember and grieve.
Visitors can deliver letters, messages, poems, photos or artwork to loved ones they have lost via a Letters to Heaven post box. These have been well-used at other locations, especially by children and young people who are dealing with loss.
There is also a poignant art installation, covered with birds and butterflies, which serves as a memorial for all babies who died during pregnancy or childbirth, whose burial places are not known.
Relatives of those babies can contact the Council’s Bereavement Services team to purchase a metal leaf, which will be engraved with the baby’s name and added to the memorial.
Treorchy, which is 155 years old, is the third cemetery to welcome a Remembrance Area. Trealaw and Maes-yr-Arian Cemeteries already have remembrance areas that are well used by visitors. Work is set to begin on more Remembrance Areas in the coming months.
Providing safe, relaxing spaces for grieving residents in all of its cemeteries is one of the commitments set out in the Council’s Bereavement Strategy.
As well as delivering a dignified and professional service on behalf of those who have died, the Strategy also recognises the need for grieving members of the community to be supported also.
Remembrance Areas, Letters to Heaven and memorials are just one of the ways in which that support is being delivered. The Council also works closely with partner agencies, supporting important events such as the Wave of Light service during Baby Loss Awareness week.
Cllr Scott Emanuel, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Bereavement Services, attended the official opening of the Remembrance Area with Treorchy ward councillors Cllr Bob Harris and Cllr Richard Clarke.
He said: “At each of the three Remembrance Areas we have opened to date, the feedback from the public has been overwhelming, seeing how much these special spaces mean to people grieving the loss of a loved one – no matter how many years have passed.
“We know there are people who spend time on the benches eating their late Dad’s favourite sweets on Father’s Day and others who post their children’s artwork in the Letters to Heaven post boxes for lost loved-ones to admire.
“The beauty of the Remembrance Gardens is they are for anyone to use to grieve, reflect and remember in their own way and I am proud the Council continues to deliver on this important commitment it has made."
To request an engraved leaf be installed on the memorial at Treorchy Cemetery, please email Bereavement Services.
Posted on 25/09/2026