The Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries project has been going for two years now, but the idea of such a group to help take care of the main cemetery in the Sid Valley has been around for much longer. In a piece from 2020 looking at managing wildlife in Sidmouth Cemetery, the hope expressed was:
“We hope that if a good compromise can be reached which can give families a peaceful sanctuary to care for loved ones’ graves, whilst encompassing nature at the same time, it will be a very positive outcome.”
This determination for a good balance between history and nature in the Sid Valley’s cemeteries has not only grown, but has been borne out as the CSC project has developed, as set out in its webpages:
It’s about nature: Cemeteries can be a haven for nature and wildlife as long as they are incorporated thoughtfully. And it’s about history and memorials: Cemeteries can be a course in art, social and religious history. There were fashions in memorial forms just as there are in everything else, these pages record some interesting examples from Sid Valley graveyards…
And this balance was indeed what the the EDDC Management Plan 2021-25 for Sidmouth Cemetery tried to achieve – and the scheduled meeting with the district council in February to progress the project will hopefully ensure a good solid basis for taking the project forward, respecting both the heritage and the wildlife of this valued part of the Sid Valley.
Other projects have tried to do the same.
The Friends of Glen Goyle was founded following conversations within both the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group and the history group of the Sid Vale Association – and a good example of this interest in both aspects of the site can be seen in the FOGG webpage Inspiration from the Victorians.
Similarly, The Sid online project is taken up not only by nature recovery along the river, but also the history of the Sid and the layers of art and culture along the Sid.
Of course, the granddaddy of them all is the Sid Vale Association, founded in 1846 to “conserve and promote the valley’s architecture, environment and culture; protect and enhance the valley’s landscape and amenities; and record the history of the valley”. And as such, its founding members were pretty successful in ensuring that the future of the Valley’s heritage and wildlife was secured.
And looking further forward, especially in our challenging times, can we continue to look to future-proofing Sidmouth? There are, after all, lots of projects and ideas for projects – all of which depend on working creatively and collaboratively – as we try to ‘future proof’ life in the Sid Valley. And many of these projects are about respecting and protecting both our heritage and our wildlife.
We will have to show some determination in the face of these future challenges – as “it’s not ‘nature or development’. It’s both.” We should avoid binary choices, for example, in making heritage greener. And we can even imagine ourselves living in a living green cathedral if we chose.
So, here’s to a positive and creative 2026, when we can work with our inspiring history and the memories of those who made it – and with our inspiring natural history and the richness that contributes so much to our lives here in the Sid Valley.
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