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 137 results
Taxa No. of records Most recent record
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale (Hawthorn Shieldbug) 1 2022
Acer pseudoplatanus (Sycamore) 4 1988
Achillea millefolium (Yarrow) 1 1988
Adalia bipunctata (2-spot Ladybird) 1 2023
Aegopodium podagraria (Ground-elder) 5 1988
Alchemilla glabra (Smooth Lady's-mantle) 1 1988
Alopecurus geniculatus (Marsh Foxtail) 2 1988
Alopecurus pratensis (Meadow Foxtail) 1 1988
Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal-grass) 2 1988
Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) 3 1988
Aphanes arvensis (Parsley-piert) 1 1986
Arrhenatherum elatius (False Oat-grass) 1 1986
Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort) 3 1988
Asteraceae (Composite) 1 1988
Athyrium filix-femina (Lady-fern) 1 1988
Atriplex patula (Common Orache) 1 1986
Barbarea vulgaris (Winter-cress) 3 1988
Bellis perennis (Daisy) 4 1988
Bromus hordeaceus (Soft-brome) 1 1988
Bufo bufo (Common Toad) 1 2023
Capreolus capreolus (Roe Deer) 2 2011
Cardamine hirsuta (Hairy Bitter-cress) 1 1988
Cardamine pratensis (Cuckooflower) 1 1988
Carex leporina (Oval Sedge) 1 1986
Carex nigra (Common Sedge) 1 1986
Centaurea montana (Perennial Cornflower) 1 1988
Centaurea nigra sens. lat. (=nigra/debeauxii) (Common Knapweed) 1 1988
Cerastium fontanum (Common Mouse-ear) 3 1988
Chamerion angustifolium (Rosebay Willowherb) 4 1988
Chiroptera (Bat) 1 2000
Cionus scrophulariae (Figwort Weevil) 1 2023
Cirsium arvense (Creeping Thistle) 5 1988
Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle) 2 1988
Coccinella septempunctata (7-spot Ladybird) 1 2023
Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn) 1 1986
Dactylis glomerata (Cock's-foot) 5 1988
Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove) 2 1988
Dryopteris dilatata (Broad Buckler-fern) 1 1988
Elytrigia repens (Common Couch) 1 1986
Epilobium ciliatum (American Willowherb) 1 1986
Epilobium hirsutum (Great Willowherb) 1 1986
Epilobium montanum (Broad-leaved Willowherb) 1 1986
Equisetum arvense (Field Horsetail) 4 1988
Erinaceus europaeus (West European Hedgehog) 1 2020
Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed) 4 1988
Festuca rubra (Red Fescue) 3 1988
Fumaria muralis (Common Ramping-fumitory) 1 1986
Galeopsis speciosa (Large-flowered Hemp-nettle) 1 1986
Galium aparine (Cleavers) 1 1988
Galium saxatile (Heath Bedstraw) 1 1988

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

Data sets Licence Records