Ecological summary

Burial grounds are fantastic places for biodiversity, often containing species rich grassland which was once widespread in the UK. The walls and monuments create habitat for amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and invertebrates as well as ferns, mosses and liverworts. Of the 2,000 lichen species in the UK, 700 are found in churchyards with a third of these rarely found elsewhere. Check for thrushes feeding on yew berries and swifts and bats under the eaves.

Caring for God's Acre is a national charity dedicated to supporting those managing burial grounds for conservation and heritage purposes. More information on the support offered can be found on their website here: https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk. To view the occurrence records in this burial ground click on the View records button underneath the map.

Ancient & Veteran Trees

The UK holds a globally important population of veteran and ancient yew trees of which three-quarters are found in the churchyards of England and Wales. There are about 800 of these ancient and veteran yews, aged from 500 to several 1,000 years old, with no known upper age limit. Burial grounds may contain veteran trees of other species.

Burial grounds may also contain veteran trees of other species, acting as hosts to a wealth of associated plants, animals, lichen and fungi.

Bats and Swifts

Bats – Bats use both the buildings and also the mature and veteran trees within burial grounds to roost, breed and overwinter. These places are relatively unchanging and so populations may have built up over centuries. In addition, bats may forage and feed over the grassland and other vegetation, taking advantage of the wide variety of insect species to be found.

Swifts – The eaves, roofs, towers and steeples of historic churches and chapels, combined with the space around them for accessing nooks and crannies make burial grounds excellent for nesting swifts. These buildings are relatively unchanging and so populations may have built up over centuries. Nests are hard to find and so surveying is crucial for good management.

[counting] species

This map contains both point- and grid-based occurrences at different resolutions

Datasets

datasets have provided data to the NBN Atlas Beautiful Burial Grounds for this place.

Browse the list of datasets and find organisations you can join if you are interested in participating in a survey for this place.

Other Heritage Information

Group Species

[counting] species

This map contains both point- and grid-based occurrences at different resolutions

Showing 1 - 50 of 58 results
Taxa No. of records Most recent record
Acer pseudoplatanus (Sycamore) 1 1998
Aegopodium podagraria (Ground-elder) 1 1998
Alopecurus pratensis (Meadow Foxtail) 1 1998
Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) 1 1998
Apus apus (Swift) 1 2011
Arum maculatum (Lords-and-Ladies) 1 1998
Bellis perennis (Daisy) 1 1998
Buxus sempervirens (Box) 1 1998
Cardamine hirsuta (Hairy Bitter-cress) 1 1998
Chamaenerion angustifolium (Rosebay Willowherb) 1 1998
Chelidonium majus (Greater Celandine) 1 1998
Cirsium arvense (Creeping Thistle) 1 1998
Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle) 1 1998
Clematis vitalba (Traveller's-joy) 1 1998
Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn) 1 1998
Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite) 1 1998
Ficaria verna (Lesser Celandine) 1 1998
Fraxinus excelsior (Ash) 1 1998
Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop) 1 1998
Galium aparine (Cleavers) 1 1998
Geranium robertianum (Herb-Robert) 1 1998
Geum urbanum (Wood Avens) 1 1998
Glechoma hederacea (Ground-ivy) 1 1998
Hedera helix (Ivy) 1 1998
Hyacinthoides hispanica (Spanish Bluebell) 1 1998
Ilex aquifolium (Holly) 1 1998
Jacobaea vulgaris (Common Ragwort) 1 1998
Lamium album (White Dead-nettle) 1 1998
Lamium purpureum (Red Dead-nettle) 1 1998
Lapsana communis (Nipplewort) 1 1998
Ligustrum ovalifolium (Garden Privet) 1 1998
Melolontha melolontha (Common Cockchafer) 1 2025
Palomena prasina (Green Shieldbug) 1 2025
Pentaglottis sempervirens (Green Alkanet) 1 1998
Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Pipistrelle) 1 2015
Plantago lanceolata (Ribwort Plantain) 1 1998
Plantago major (Greater Plantain) 1 1998
Plecotus auritus (Brown Long-eared Bat) 1 2018
Primula vulgaris (Primrose) 1 1998
Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata (22-spot Ladybird) 1 2025
Ranunculus repens (Creeping Buttercup) 1 1998
Rumex acetosa (Common Sorrel) 1 1998
Rumex crispus subsp. crispus 1 1998
Sambucus nigra (Elder) 1 1998
Senecio vulgaris (Groundsel) 1 1998
Sonchus asper (Prickly Sow-thistle) 1 1998
Sonchus oleraceus (Smooth Sow-thistle) 1 1998
Stachys sylvatica (Hedge Woundwort) 1 1998
Stellaria media (Common Chickweed) 1 1998
Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew) 1 1998

Charts showing breakdown of occurrence records ([counting] records)

Data sets Licence Records