CHURCHYARD @stmarywarsash

Welcome to St.Mary’s Churchyard

The Churchyard is a beautiful place in a peaceful setting.  It is quite natural being against a nature reserve and so it hosts a whole range of wildlife; from glow worms to deer, slow worms to badgers, ‘wasp’ spiders to a barn owl!  It is a lovely place to come, sit on a bench, enjoy the peace and ponder memories whether with a smile or with a tear.

There is a leaflet to introduce the churchyard to you which can be found at the back of St.Mary’s Church.

The churchyard is an important aspect of the life of our community and it is one of the few churchyards in the area that remain open to burials and interment of ashes.    The Parochial Church Council would like to keep the churchyard open as long as possible so that burials and interment of ashes can continue.  In 2015 the Consistory Court of the Diocese approved our proposals for a new Garden of Remembrance.  Money was raised during the course of 2016.  The Garden of Remembrance was opened and dedicated in July 2017.  Further information can be found on the here.

FRIENDS OF THE CHURCHYARD

The Churchyard is managed as the church garden by the Parochial Church Friends_of_Church_YardCouncil with the help of volunteers from the congregation and community.  The ‘FRIENDS OF ST.MARY’S CHURCHYARD’ meet for a working party to keep it tidy on the third Saturday morning of each month during March – October from 9.30am – noon.  Why not bring your gardening tools and join us in the fellowship of caring for the churchyard?  Those who have the graves of loved ones in the church yard find the ‘friends’ to be a great source of encouragement and friendship.  Please see the bottom of this page for a list of the forthcoming dates.

MEMORIALS

If you would like a memorial placed over a grave then you can approach a local stonemason who should guide you, help you chose an appropriate memorial and who will then apply to the parish on your behalf.  You are of course welcome to contact us about this if you wish, but we often first hear of memorials directly from a stonemason with your request.  Please note that the stonemason should follow the diocesan regulations in terms of the memorial application.

REGULATIONS

The churchyard is regulated by the Diocese of Portsmouth through the Chancellor of the Diocese.  A summary of the regulations is in a Churchyard leaflet which can be found at the back of St.Mary’s Church.  The Chancellor’s full regulations can be read in the church porch or by following this link.

Forthcoming Dates for the Friends of the Churchyard include :-