St Catherine’s, in Barmby Moor, is said to be the largest churchyard in East Yorkshire, certainly it is very large (2.5 acres or 1 hectare).  It has been managed for wildlife since the mid 1990s when the then vicar, Canon Val Hewetson, a botany graduate, noticed wildflowers flowering in between mowings.  Fast forward to the 2020s, the churchyard has a range of mowing regimes – to allow the wildflowers to continue to thrive and provide a habitat for small mammals, insects and other small creatures. The areas of modern graves are mown approximately once a fortnight in the growing season …

We have been managing the churchyard for about 13 years now, since a small group of us decided that too many flowers were being cut and that the grass cuttings being left were unsightly and doing no good! It has been a struggle, but we have more volunteers now.  The cutting regime, for which we have to pay, varies according to the weather.  This year we have manage with only one, but the clearing was not as thorough, as the weather was against us.  Last year we needed three cuts, which were cleared pretty well. The best time to visit …

St Clement’s churchyard is in the centre of the town of Rhayader, in mid-Wales, Powys. The churchyard is of average size and is the resting place of at least several hundred persons. It is the traditional burial ground for the town. The churchyard is full and is not open to new burials although burials of cremated remains still take place. The churchyard is home to the infamous ‘Giant’s Grave’ the mass grave thought to be of the garrison of Rhayader Castle killed by Llywelyn ap Iowerth who captured it in 1231. A recent survey commissioned by CfGA described the churchyard …

You will find St Edith’s Church at the end of the road, tucked into Wenlock Edge, a wonderfully peaceful spot.  Parts of the building date back to the 12th Century and there is a grade II listed slab tomb in the churchyard. This sloping site is a haven to wildlife and has been managed for biodiversity for some years.  Areas of the churchyard are allowed to grow long throughout the summer and are then cut and the ‘hay’ removed. Slow worm, adder and common lizard have been spotted here as well as zigzag clover, yellow oat grass, devil’s bit scabious and …

This beautiful churchyard is approximately a quarter of a hectare in size and is well maintained. It surrounds St Edmund’s Church which is a Grade 11 listed building and is situated near the centre of the small town of Crickhowell. It lies in the Conservation Area of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority. The churchyard has been closed for coffin burials since 1886 but a few burials of ashes have taken place more recently. The ground is flat, though uneven in parts of the eastern end. It is surrounded by stone walls on three sides, north, east and west which …

St Etheldreda’s is a fantastic churchyard of great antiquity. The veteran yews, veteran oak and curved shape to the wall all suggest a pre-Christian or early Christian sacred space. The churchyard and church are both regularly visited and are well loved locally; the veteran trees, old walls, abundant wildflowers and beautiful location make this a particularly attractive churchyard.

St Gastyn churchyard is a beautiful site and sits right by Llangorse Lake. The burial ground has been managed as a summer meadow and during the summer months it contains beautiful wildflowers such as Common Spotted-orchid, Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Fox-and-cubs, Common Sorrel, Germander Speedwell, Herb-Robert and Buttercups.

Pass by the church in Stanton St. Quintin on a Saturday morning, you may see a band of volunteers hard at work in the churchyard.  This group has been managing the site for over 20 years, meeting once a month from March to November (twice in July, the busiest growing month.) The aim is to provide the best possible habitat for native plants, which in turn encourages a large range of insects and other invertebrates, followed by larger animals, such as bats or small mammals like the shrew, who form part of the food chain. The overall appearance of the …

The name of the church has quite a complicated history. Originally dedicated to St Hilary of Poitiers or possibly St Eleri of Gwytherin in the 6th century. The church came under the control of Maenan Abbey who rebuilt it in 1282 it was then rededicated to the Virgin Mary. On the dissolution of the monasteries in 1535 the dedication reverted to the original St Hilary. The current chancel dates from this period with many additions in the 19th Century which were chiefly funded by the Mostyn Family. The original Churchyard surrounding the church dates back to these earlier times with …

At St James we are managing our churchyard with wildlife conservation very much in mind. We began the process in a small way in the spring of 2013, inviting the local community to join us in building and placing bird boxes, more than half of which became home to families of blue tits and great tits over that summer. The Churchyard Conservation Project was officially launched in Spring 2014 when we began to recreate the right conditions for wild meadow to develop, allowing selected areas to grow uncut during spring and early summer. The project is now well established, transforming …

This lovely churchyard and is a level site surrounded by drystone walls. It was developed here in 1930s following flooding of the old village of Stocks in Bowland by Stocks Reservoir. Bodies were brought from the old churchyard and reburied here. Those whose remains could not be identified are buried in a mass grave at the far end of the site and is marked with a grave stone. The Graveyard at Dale Head Church is designated by Rural Development Service of DEFRA as a ‘Biological Heritage site’, with over 130 plant species, some rare. We conserve the floristic richness and …

The churchyard has been managed for wildflowers since 2014. During spring and early summer four designated areas, mostly surrounding the older graves, are allowed to grow uncut. Our annual meadow mow is held usually on the last Saturday in July, followed by a barbecue in the churchyard for our volunteers. There are two other working party days during the year, the first in mid to late March to tidy up and mark out the wildflower areas, and the last one at the end of November to rake leaves and turn the compost heap. We made the decision at the start …

Large churchyard of “unimproved grassland”.  This churchyard is species rich with over 80 different species of wildflowers recorded over the year. It has managed to retain unimproved grassland by mowing with grassbox, strimmings are then raked or picked up, so grass leavings do not form a fertilising mulch. In the spring Primroses, Ground ivy, Self heal, Dog violets, and few wild Daffodils are out. In early summer Buttercups and lots of White clover are seen. Mid summer you can see Yellow cat’s ear and Purple clover, Plantain, Birds- foot- trefoil, Cow parsley, and Moon daisies. Late summer there are Moon daisies, Yarrow, …

St John the Baptist is an ancient church built next to a venerable yew which has survived since the Roman occupation and a holy well. The churchyard has been traditionally managed as a species rich grassland for many years and is left to flower until late July when it is scythed and raked. In early summer the churchyard is a sea of oxeye daisies with selfheal, yellow rattle and meadow buttercup scattered throughout the mix of grasses.  Later in the season devils bits scabious betony and back knapweed emerge.  Over 100 species of plant and 60 species of fungi have …

Whilst the site St John’s is not an ancient one, with the first chapel on the site originating in 1836, the churchyard was formed when Croydon was a rural area.  The creation of the churchyard encapsulated a pocket of countryside at that time and the churchyard continues to be home to plant species that would have been common outside its boundaries 150+ years ago before it became enveloped in the growing city.  This includes species  such as meadow saxifrage, lady’s bedstraw, yellow oat grass, crested dog’s tail and meadow buttercup. The diversity of the plants in the churchyard is down …

The management regime for the churchyard was drawn up in the early 1990s to enable wildlife, and especially wildflowers, to flourish. In the spring.   The grass is cut but between April and August only a narrow verge and limited walkways are cut. This enables a multitude of wild plants to flower and seed thus ensuring their continuance from year to year. In June 2000 this area was awarded first prize in the Millennium Celebration Competition sponsored by Yorkshire Electricity and The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for a churchyard managed sympathetically for wildlife. An oak display stand marks the event. Explore this …

Our aim is for St Laurence’s churchyard to be a sanctuary, an extension, if you like, of the building itself within and for the community.  It has multiple uses: for peace and quiet (the benches are often occupied, especially on a sunny afternoon); as a wildlife haven; for access with many footpaths (one of the paths is a Public Right of Way); and as a backdrop for ceremonies like weddings. The churchyard has not been officially ‘closed’.  The additional burial ground in Cunnery Road was opened in 1870 and the ‘new’ cemetery in 1942; both are the responsibility of the …

St. Lawrence Churchyard has been recognised by Suffolk Wildlife Trust as a special site, significant for local wildlife.  The grassland of the churchyard is allowed to grow to it’s full height in the summer with wide paths cut through the sward that includes hedge and lady’s bedstraw, meadow cranesbill, black knapweed and wild marjoram. The church also has swift nest boxes in the tower and barn owl boxes in the churchyard. In a previous year three barn owl owlets were ringed and  registered. The are bats visiting the church on a regular basis such long eared brown bats, pipistrelle and …

St Margaret’s & St Andrew’s Churchyard is an ancient site with aspects of the current church dating back to 1254. it holds the accolade of the largest churchyard in Devon and a booklet about some of the more notable internments can be found here. Adjoining the churchyard is a traditional cemetery and a secluded green burial ground.  As an active burial ground the site in managed by a sextant with grassland management plan developed by a local ecologist and executed with the help of volunteers. The varied grassland habitats created by the cutting regime provides habitat for insects and small mammals …

St Margaret’s churchyard is a great example of a landscape of remembrance that is managed for biodiversity and heritage. Areas of the churchyard are allowed to grow long during the spring and summer to enable the species rich grassland to flourish.  These areas are then scythed in the late summer and the cuttings removed allowing the fungi to emerge in the autumn. Paths of short mown grass are maintained throughout the summer through the wildflower areas, around the church and along the formal path to aid accessibility. This churchyard features in our short film Why Record Wildlife? St Margaret’s churchyard is …

The parish church of St Martin’s church dates from the 12th Century,  it stands on a slight rise off the Lewes Road. The walls are flint, plastered in part, with sandstone dressings; the roofs have tiles on the north and chiefly Horsham slates on the south. It has an area of  neutral grassland to the north with a tall but varying structure, containing abundant False Oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius), Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolate) and Rough Meadow-grass (Poa trivialis). Although considered to be Arrhenatherum neutral grassland given the abundance of False Oat-grass, the sward is fairly species diverse with a high proportion of herbs …

We have a large burial ground, which has been closed for burials for over 120 years.  A large number of old gravestones offers shelter for all year round floral interest. We have a large number of trees, Copper beech, Yew, Lime, Oak, Thuja, as well as wild Primroses, Snowdrops in the Spring. People of the village tend to use the churchyard as a place for contemplation and peace, but many local dog walkers use the paths.  The ground is maintained by Lenham Borough Council, grass cutting and weeding, which sometimes causes conflict in nature conservation.  We are, however, in constant …

St Mary's is a beautiful historic church with a peaceful ambience and wildlife-friendly churchyard with open views of the countryside towards the Howardian Hills. The churchyard management is wildlife-friendly and our vision is to promote wildflower meadow restoration and pollinator conservation. Since 2016 we have been tending this lovely churchyard with the aim of developing biodiversity and supporting wildlife. This is an open churchyard and grass paths are cut regularly for visitors, but the rest of the churchyard is hand-scythed annually to protect inhabitants such as toads and voles and to avoid cutting back plants which are still in flower …

St Mary’s Church Chiddingfold has a wonderful and historic churchyard, covering about four and a quarter acres. William de Wanda, Dean of Salisbury, recorded in 1220 that there was already at Chiddingfold a cymeterium, so the churchyard has been used as a burial site for many centuries.  The Cemetery Listing contains nearly 4,500 names of people buried here. The churchyard also provides a well-used walking route, both for recreational purposes and for access to the Church and Village Green area for residents in the upper part of the Village. Entrance is through a fine Lych Gate. The predominant habitat type …

There is a volunteer group who manage St Mary’s Churchyard. Within the churchyard there are certain areas that contain summer flowering ‘wild flowers’, these include species like lesser celandine, wild strawberry, Herb Robert, Cranes-bill, and Primroses. The churchyard also contain annual flower beds which are sown every year.

Over the last 2 years, we’ve been endeavouring to nurture more biodiversity areas in the Churchyard. Ring fencing areas for wildflowers to flourish, planting hedgerow saplings such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose and rowan on the borders of the Churchyard. We’ve built a Church Bug House and recently built a raised bed to house a variety of biblical herbs. Yesterday, the Churchyard was open as part of Ideford Open Gardens. We did a survey of the many species of wildflowers. There were 26 species in the big patch amongst the oxeye daisies and another 12 amongst the other 5 …

St Mary’s is a nineteenth-century church on the site of a seventeenth-century chapel of Wrexham parish which was demolished in 1864. The new church, for a new parish, was built in 1865-6 to designs of Kennedy and Rogers, partly funded by the Minera Mining Company. The beautiful ancient churchyard is full of wildflowers in the summer such as rough hawkbit, oxeye daisy, bush vetch, meadow vetchling, crosswort and meadow buttercup. There is also quaking grass and glaucous sedge present which are seldom seen in the wider countryside. Woodpeckers and Jackdaws flit among the gravestones and there is a bird hide …

This lovely churchyard is a County Wildlife site, renowned for its displays of wildflowers. Renowned ecologist and author Dr George Peterken puts Coddenham in a national ‘100 best churchyards’, not just for the wealth of flowers but also for the obvious interest in managing for them. The species found include bee orchid, rough hawkbit, field scabious, lady’s bedstraw and there are records of a range of lichens. St Mary’s Churchyard is a special place, and a tribute to all those who have worked to maintain it over the years. The exceptional range of wildlife has only been made possible by …

St Mary’s is a small church and churchyard in the rural area of the Severn Vale.  The current church was built in the 1840s and is the third known church building built on the site over the past 700 years.  The church is an unusual example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture and is little altered from when it was built.  It has been described as Gloucestershire’s mini cathedral as it is very ornate. The churchyard is open for burials so our gravestones date from the 1720s to the current day.  There are several rather ornate Victorian memorials from the Darell …

Lying beneath the slopes of Great Whernside in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales is the village of Kettlewell.  St Mary’s churchyard, once carved out from the ancient pastures and meadowland that surround it, is a beautiful place of welcome for all life. Aware of the large footfall of visitors to the churchyard, in 2018 a small group of local villagers and church members began working together on a project to enhance the churchyard’s use for both people and wildlife.  As well as continuing to provide a place where our loved ones could be respectfully laid to rest in the …

St Mary’s, Oldberrow in the Coventry Diocese, a small Victorian restoration on a thirteenth century site, has an unspoilt species-rich churchyard where the native flora has been flowering and setting seed for centuries.  In the spring there is a profusion of cowslips and through the summer, knapweeds, scabious, betony, quaking grass and countless others along with a healthy population of slowworms.  It was designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2003. This little church on a main road has never been locked and brings comfort to all those that visit and find the door open.  It is Part of Small Pilgrim …

Set in a Dartmoor village the Churchyard has areas of wildflowers, ox eye daises, yellow rattle, betony, mallow, some orchids and devils bit scabious in the late summer. Butterflies include marbled white, small pearl bordered fritillary & the day flying Chimney Sweeper moth, indicator of old pasture. CPRE “Best churchyard in Devon” competition 2018- “Highly Commended”. Designated a ”County Wildlife Site” in 2020, the first so far in Devon. For contact details, please visit Friends of Throwleigh Church Website  Throwleigh Parish Website Throwleigh churchyard plant list

The Churchyard at Whitton is managed by a small team of volunteers. There are recorded some 200 different plant species including a spring a carpet of wild daffodils. 78 species of lichen have also been recorded in the churchyard. The northerly meadow is a mass of wild daffodils in the spring, and is cut in late July for hay, and then regularly to maintain a tidy appearance. The southerly meadows are cut from early July onwards and a small section close to the north wall of the church is cut in late August as it is the habitat of betony, devils …

The church is situated on elevated ground on the lip of the Glaven valley and overlooking the flood plain towards Cley. The soil is light and sandy and probably alluvial in origin. There do not appear to be many calcareous elements and the flora is not naturally so diverse as would be expected on a more alkaline soil. The churchyard has been managed for biodiversity since 2014, helping to encourage a range of species in this rare habitat of old, unimproved grassland. Plant species such as Ox-eye Daisy, Creeping Cinquefoil, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Meadow Cranesbill, Common Mallow, Perforate St. John’s-wort, Sorrel, …

St Matthew’s churchyard started life in the early 1800’s, so is a newcomer relative to other churchyards. The churchyard has a large burial ground that extends to the east of the church and there is a conservation area which started in 2013 and since then there has been an increase in the species of wildflowers like Pignut, Primrose, Hogweed, Cuckooflower, Germander speedwell, Meadow vetchling, Bush vetch and Common sorrel.

We care the the one-ish acre churchyard by keeping path edges and access to recent graves and cremation plots mown but otherwise leave it to grow naturally with a full cut in late July and again in late October.  Following the two cuts, we rake off and compost. Since beginning this method of care about 9 years ago we have noticed the wonderfully increasing number of wild flowers through the spring.

St Michael's Church, Llanfiuhangel Genau'r Glyn is sited at the head of a scenic valley overlooked by a wooded slope, with the graveyard occupying two distinct areas around the church. The older churchyard stretches upward behind the church into the surrounding woodland, while a newer churchyard situated below the church extends into the valley floor. There is a management plan in place which aims to maintain a balance between the people who visit the churchyard and maintaining the biodiversity of the area. The mature trees in the upper graveyard create an ideal environment for many common birds, insects and plants, …

St Michael’s churchyard is an exceptionally tranquil space known for the plant, insect and wildlife diversity. Managed as a wild meadow, it boasts an exceptional display of wildflowers and plants from spring onwards, including bluebells, orchids, cowslips, agrimony and much more.  This management approach has resulted in a thriving habitat for many insects, mammals and birds.  We have stoats, stag beetles, large mounds created by yellow meadow ants, which in turn have attracted green woodpeckers, a huge array of butterflies, and much, much more. Although the Spring through Summer flowering is a magnificent spectacle, the serenity of a warm, low-sun …

St Michael’s Church is at the head of a picturesque valley where a small stream runs steeply through the woodland. The graveyard and woodland are rich in biodiversity and there are short walks introducing visitors to the natural, cultural and creative heritage of this site. The lower graveyard (about 2 hectares in size) is sensitively managed and has both spring and summer meadow areas. The church is associated with a holy well believed to have healing properties and with a very old yew tree, approximately 1,800 years old. It may therefore have been a much older early Christian or pagan …

St Michaels church dates from the C15th and is a grade 2 listed building.  It was rebuilt in 1860 by Thomas Hine. Only a fragment of the original tower survives. Throughout its history there have been a number of extensions to the churchyard and in 1916 it was extended behind the church house.  There were 700 grave spaces  and In 1922 the war memorial was erected in the front  of the churchyard and this was restored in 1979 and tablets added with the names of the “fallen”. In 1927 the Cash family reserved 3 spaces and 1929 the Hodgson Wilson …