Arnos Vale Cemetery is one of the most important and beautiful early 19th Century cemeteries in Britain. Following years of neglect, the site was abandoned by its owner and in the 1990s, its gates closed. We initially undertook a series of studies to identify future uses for the cemetery and its five Grade II* listed buildings to be implemented at the least cost to rate-payers and how a community-led project could be established. Following a substantial HLF grant, we conducted a £7m scheme of repairs, adaptations, landscaping and infrastructure improvements to the cemetery’s monuments, Grade II* listed cemetery buildings and Arcadian landscape. Significant works were completed by an army of volunteers including landscaping, pathways and monument conservation. The scheme included the conversion of the Non-Conformist Chapel to provide a state-of-the art education complex incorporating a modern steel and glass entrance pavilion and created new uses for the site, securing its future.