It’s some time since a newsletter from the Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries project was put together – and yet a fair bit’s been happening these last months. And even though there is the touch of autumn in the air, the recent rains have freshened up the trees, bushes and grass up at Sidmouth Cemetery, which is looking so much greener than it has for a long time.
MANAGING FOR WILDLIFE
In that context, it seems that the interest in ‘greening’ and managing churchyards and cemeteries for wildlife is growing:
Churchyards are vital havens for rare wildlife including dormice, bats and beetles, according to an extensive audit of burial grounds around the UK. The conservation charity Caring for God’s Acre mapped out 20,325 cemeteries, with 800,000 wildlife records submitted and more than 10,800 species recorded.
Sidmouth Cemetery is no exception, where volunteers from the working party come across all sorts of wildlife, including the likes of slow worms and beetles, let alone the birds and bees and butterflies.
Volunteers and visitors alike appreciate the trees of Sidmouth Cemetery – and the work of the district council’s Streetscene tree team, who have been very busy in the Cemetery since the early spring putting up bird boxes and bat boxes – which are looking very impressive.
And a recent story about some creative work from the tree team shows that making homes for wildlife at the Cemetery can be both fun and practical…
GARDENING
The volunteers of the CSC working party actually spend most of their time gardening – and not only pulling up three-cornered leek and swathes of bramble. They also work in the formal beds – which meant discovering “The Winslade Rose“, later identified by a supporter of the project as a Queen Elizabeth rose.
Another aspect of the formal gardens are the profusion of trees in flower at Sidmouth Cemetery in spring and summer.
And no garden would be without a spot of composting – and the working party have been very pleased to be able to properly establish a compost heap within wheelbarrow-walking distance.
HISTORY
The heritage of the Sid Valley is well represented in its cemeteries and churchyards – and earlier in the year there was some interesting discussion about garden cemeteries and cemetery gardens in the Sid Valley and whether the main cemetery in the Valley can be described as a ‘garden cemetery’, considering the geometrical layout of the cemetery with its walks, paths and borders, as well the later planting of evergreens near the chapels.
In a new page under the History section of this website, CSC volunteer Liz Decker has put together a piece on the creation of Sidmouth Cemetery: “the drive to create a new cemetery for all persuasions”.
And we are very grateful to John McCarthy, local historian and supporter of the CSC project, for allowing us his considerable research to be made available on the website, where we consider the graves of those who served in the armed forces and merchant navy at Sidmouth Cemetery.
Meanwhile, a look at both the history and nature in the Sid Valley’s cemeteries shows there are other corners where nature and memorials come together. So, in the front cemetery garden at the Dissenters of Sidmouth we can enjoy both green spaces and rich heritage at the very heart of town.
SIGNAGE
For some time, there had been rather confusing signage up at Sidmouth Cemetery.
Back in the spring, there was an opportunity to have our say in the council’s public spaces consultation – including asking what the public thinks about introducing a clear ‘dogs-on-leads’ policy in the Cemetery, which can be properly enforced and which would lead to better signage.
In the mean time, there has been new signage for Sidmouth Cemetery, asking dog owners to pick up after their dogs – for both Sidmouth and Sidbury Cemeteries, which are managed by the District Council.
VOLUNTEER WORKING PARTY
Earlier in the summer, volunteer Liz Dicker penned a wonderful piece letting us know in rich detail how “On Thursday mornings Sidmouth Cemetery comes alive…”:
“On Thursday mornings Sidmouth Cemetery comes alive for a couple of hours as cars, bicycles and shank’s pony bring a team of volunteers from all corners of the town to cherish our cemetery. We are the Cherishing Sidmouth Cemetery group and we scatter around the graveyard in our yellow hi-vis waistcoats like a flock of feeding canaries. East Devon District Council drops off dumpy bags and collects them later in the day full of brambles, woody material, invasive plants and ivy. Litter, strimmer plastic and dog deposits go in the bin.“
And here we see the volunteers of the Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries working party receiving their ‘canary’ jackets from Sidmouth Cllr Ian Barlow a year ago. [And no apologies for reposting such a great photo!]
Finally, then, it’s great to get positive feedback. Just one example of comments from the public should suffice to show that “It is looking wonderful, you are all doing a grand job!”
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