The Chantry in Windleshaw, St Helens, which has been transformed by a group of local volunteers, will celebrate the first Mass at the site for eight years in September.

The cemetery has 1,300 graves in total and 400 of them have been restored by volunteers over the past 12 years.

The oldest grave is from 1751 and the oldest record of the site is 1658. There are graves of one bishop, 31 priests, 29 soldiers and business people including the man that brought glassmaking to St Helens.

Volunteer Ted Forsyth said: “I started volunteering here 12 years ago, and the graves were in bad disrepair. Since then, we have repaired 100s of graves whilst uncovering so many interesting stories.  

“I’m not a historian, but I developed an interest in local history after I started looking into my family tree after my nan died.  

“The group of volunteers which today includes myself, Karen, Jean and Dave, come here every weekend, unless it’s raining, to work on the site.

“The process of restoring the graves is to find them using the records we have, dig them out and then use soil to fill back around them again.

“We have come across lots of graves that have had pieces missing, we’ve been able to find these pieces and put them back together to return it to a full grave.

“The cemetery is incredibly interesting, there are so many stories behind the people buried here. There are lots of local people who have been influential in the history of St Helens; such as Lords and business people, but also people from further afield such as Sri Lanka.

“There is still even more to uncover. It would take another 10 years for us to restore all of the graves here. The record we have for restoring graves is nine in one day, the longest it has taken us for one is two weeks.”

Fr Michael Harwood will celebrate Mass at the Chantry on Saturday 9 September at 2pm. All are welcome to attend. Fr Michael will be returning in November to bless the soldier’s graves.

Meanwhile, Ted will be delivering talks on the history of the site on Sunday 10 and 17 September at 11am, all are welcome.