Your Churchyard
The maintenance of the churchyard needs to carefully balance the various requirements of the different aspects of a churchyard. For example, correctly planned, grassland can provide a valuable wildlife habitat without looking unkempt to mourners and visitors. A churchyard management plan is essential for an effective holistic treatment of the churchyard.
The Legal Framework
As a place of special interest to a wide range of people - mourners, parishioners, historians, ecologists, visitors and others - the care of the churchyard is regulated in a number of different ways. Like the church building and its contents, any significant work in the churchyard requires a faculty. The diocesan chancellor often delegates the authority to allow new monuments or inscriptions to the incumbent, within certain guidelines, by means of the diocesan Churchyard Regulations (also called Directions or Rules). Every significant work not covered by these, or any monuments which do not comply with them, will require a faculty.
The maintenance of the churchyard is also affected by secular jurisdiction. Planning permission should be obtained for any building work, work involving drainage, landscaping, the laying or altering of paths etc. Any alterations to any separately listed structure, such as a lychgate or monument, will require listed building consent. If the churchyard is within a Conservation Area, the appropriate consent will also need to be sought. The presence of scheduled ancient monuments in the churchyard, above or below ground, makes it also necessary to apply for the appropriate consent before any work is undertaken. Any works involving trees will also need permission if the tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order or in a Conservation Area.
Other statutory protection measures which may affect a churchyard include the designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which may prohibit certain site-specific operations.
Any work with archaeological implications, such as digging drains, repairing monuments or tree removal, will require careful consideration of the potential archaeological evidence before any of the above permissions are given. Your Diocesan Archaeological Adviser will be able to advise you.
Know your Churchyard
Maintenance and care of the churchyard has to be based on thorough knowledge of its various features which are carefully recorded. Apart from the statutory burial records, a parish should keep a comprehensive record including plans and photographs. The relevant section in the Church Property Register should cover memorials, other features of interest, trees with Tree Preservation Orders, SSSI designation and any listed or scheduled monuments or structures. Activities such as repairs, felling of trees or vandalism should be recorded in the Church Log Book which will also contain the Quinquennial Inspection report. The report will cover the condition of the churchyard, including any trees subject to Tree Preservation Orders and any designated ruins, and outline repair priorities.
In addition to these statutory documents, it is wise to maintain an up-to-date record of the features of the churchyard. This should include details of burials and memorials (and their inscriptions) with contact details of those responsible for maintaining them, a topographical survey, records of the various plants and animals present in the churchyard and a history of the churchyard. All features should be marked on an accompanying map and illustrated by photos taken throughout the year. This comprehensive record will be helpful in formulating a churchyard policy and a management plan. In gathering this information you will need to consult local planners and experts, as well as the local Wildlife Trust.
Maintain and manage your Churchyard
Regular maintenance is a fundamental duty of the PCC and essential for avoiding accidents or other problems. Based on the comprehensive record of the churchyard the PCC should agree policies and arrangements for maintenance. These can constitute a churchyard management plan which should be discussed with the PCC and the congregation as well as the local authority. A user-friendly, single-page summary may be published together with the diocesan regulations on the noticeboard. The churchyard management plan should be revised and updated every five years.
The management plan should set out the special character and features of the churchyard and outline the maintenance regime, e.g. the height of grass, whether a wildlife area has been set aside, the management of dead flowers, cuttings etc and the inspection of tombstones.
All maintenance tasks need a faculty, unless they are covered by the chancellor's regulations. The conservation and removal from the site of any archaeological finds requires a faculty.
All work to monuments of considerable historic interest, whether they are listed or not, should only be carried out with the advice of an accredited conservator and no work should be undertaken without a faculty. Your inspecting architect and DAC will be able to advise you on this. You can find further information on the conservation of monuments in How to Conserve Your Church's Contents.
Most stones will change in appearance as they weather and become covered by lichen and moss. This is a natural process and does not necessarily require cleaning. Indeed, cleaning may inhibit the churchyard's ecological value or may constitute an offence as some lichen and moss species are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
It is advisable to maintain a separate churchyard bank account for donations or contributions from relatives of people buried in the churchyard and to have adequate financial provisions for maintenance.
Ecology
Nationally, churchyards are among the most important wildlife habitats and can be a sanctuary for rare plants and animals. While managing a churchyard in such a way to provide for wildlife needs careful planning and a little more work than for a domestic garden the results can be highly valuable. As well as providing refuge for many species of flora and fauna, a well-managed churchyard will also be enhanced by the presence of more flowers, butterflies and birds.
Any landscaping should only be undertaken on the advice of a landscaping architect or designer and should be as restrained as possible as the character of the churchyard can be altered considerably by seemingly minor changes.
Health and Safety
Having responsibility for the churchyard, the PCC also has a constant duty to carry out necessary maintenance to prevent accidents. The safety of walls, trees and gravestones should be regularly checked. The heirs of the person commemorated may be liable for an unsafe memorial and, if they can be traced, should be contacted as soon as possible. Health and safety arrangements include the identification of hazards, risk assessments and preventive action.
November 2007
Further Information
Thomas Cocke (ed.), The Churchyards Handbook (Church House Publishing, 4th edition, 2001).
Nigel Cooper, Wildlife in Church and Churchyard. Plants, animals and their management (Church House Publishing, 2nd edition, 2001).
More information on SSSIs, their designation and details can be found on the website of Natural England.
For information on lichen in churchyards please see the website of the British Lichen Society.
The Churches Conservation Trust produces The Good Gravestone Recording Pack which contains everything you need to record and understand a historic churchyard. This not currently available online but can be obtained from http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/resources/
