Nature Conservation in the Churchyard

N A T U R E C O N S E R V A T I O N IN T H E C H U R C H Y A R D F . J. BINGLEY

Introduction: In many parishes the churchyard constitutes the last relic of ancient pasture, one of the richest grassland habitats in this country, and one which is disappearing fast under the pressures of modern farming methods. When grass is laid down by a farmer it usually contains two or three grass species, and perhaps clover. After a few years other species of plant slowly invade so that in maybe seven or eight years there could be about a dozen species in the turf. As time passes the number slowly increases and this is why ancient pasture, untouched perhaps for centuries, is so rieh in species.

However, its food value for stock is low and that is why so much has been ploughed up by farmers and resown with highly nutritive cultivated strains of grasses.

There are 10,500 medieval churches in England; if we include the post-reformation churches there could be as much as 20,000 acres of ancient pasture in our churchyards—a very valuable resource which should be safeguarded for posterity.

Shape, size and siting: Churchyards are usually oblong in shape—a round one may indicate a very early site, potentially of great interest. Almost all those measured to date are between one and two acres in area. There are exceptions; Long Melford and Leiston in Suffolk are over two acres. They occupy well-drained sites, often two to three feet above the level of the surrounding land.

This may possibly be attributed to the thousands of burials in the churchyard over the centuries; there have probably been twenty or thirty times as many burials in the average village churchyard as the present number of tombstones would lead one to expect. The churchyard may be bounded on one or two sides by a ditch, which may itself be of historical and/or archaeological interest, and may provide an additional habitat favoured by water-loving plants and animals.

Soil: The soil of the churchyard varies with that of the district but tends to be neutral to alkaline; bone fragments will add calcium and phosphate and this will be supplemented by limestone and mortar rubble from the decay of tombstones and building materials. This tendency is reflected in the

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presence of some calcicolous species in almost every churchyard examined. It is perhaps significant that the longest species lists come from the churchyards on the chalky boulder clay (pH 7-8).

Light: In addition to the effects of soil on churchyard Vegetation, shade, from the church itself, from trees, and even from tombstones, is an important factor in determining the distribution of the various plants. Indeed it can provide a habitat for shade-loving species. Even the sunny and shaded sides of a tombstone support different species of liehen: the bright yellow Caloplaca heppeana on the sunny side, for e x a m p l e , and the grey Buellia canescens on the shaded side.

Species characteristic of woodlands are found in the shade cast to the north of the church as well as on the shady side of trees and the boundary hedge.

Flora: In dealing with the flora and fauna it must be borne in mind that the plants and animals are not there by virtue of its being a churchyard, but are as likely to be found in the orchard across the way or the paddock down the r o a d — a n y w h e r e with a c o m p a r a b l e area of unploughed turf. As many as 70 species of flowering plants have been found in several Suffolk churchyards, includng Nettleshead, Somersham and Washbrook, and we have one record of 100 species from a churchyard in N o r f o l k . T h e calcicoles referred to above include the Cowslip, Primula veris, Quaking Grass, (Briza media), Lesser Burnet Saxifrage, (Pimpinella saxifraga), the Gladwin Iris, Ins foetidissima, and the Green-winged Orchid, Orchis morio.

W o o d l a n d relict species such as the Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus, are also found. The Spotted Medick, Medicago arabica, seems to be present in all churchyards.

E x a m p l e s of some of the rare species recorded are the Man O r c h i d , Aceras anthropophorum, and the Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis.

F e r n s are a feature of some churchyards: O n e rare fern, the L i m e s t o n e Polypody (Thelypteris robertianum), is now enclosed in what is probably the smallest nature reserve in E u r o p e ; it grows on a tombstone outside St. Lawrence's C h u r c h , Ipswich. Mosses and lichens are a m a j o r study in themselves, but it is interesting to note that while they are very

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abundant on limestone tombstones, only one species of liehen, Lecidea lucida, is common on sandstone.

The trees include planted yew and other ornamental species. Round the boundary native trees are more usual, and in several churchyards examined these have been found to include Tilia cordata, the small-leaved lime, an indicator of ancient forest.

Fauna: The fauna of the churchyard is similar to that of any garden or meadow. Small mammal trapping shows a normal population level of mice and voles. Frogs are plentiful in several churchyards bounded by ditches or old moats. In one instance slow-worms are a feature. The butterfly population, always attractive, depends to a great extent on the diversity of flowering plants present, and the same is likely to be true of other groups of invertebrates. Hence old pasture will support a greater ränge of species than new pasture.

The birds that occur are normal for the type of habitat and, of course, are more numerous if there is good cover provided by the trees and hedges surrounding the churchyard. It should be remembered that in towns churchyards provide an important oasis for bird life.

Management: At this point it must be made clear that many of the flowering plants and their associated wildlife would not be numerous were the turf kept closely cropped. This is not to suggest that churchyards should be shut up as reserves, nor that they should be i e f t to nature', but that by cutting at the right time of year the best results for wildlife can be achieved. The grass is best not cut until June, after the spring-flowering species have set seed, and cut again to six inches at the end of August, to prevent the rank growth of weedy species, and finally cut close in October. Alternatively, in the absence of yew, which is poisonous to animals, the land should be grazed after the June cut. Sheep are the best animals for this purpose — and have been used recently at Ousden and Finningham—but grazing can produce untidy results unless carefully controlled.

It probably produces the best results for the turf, however.

The grazing animal, unlike a mowing machine, is not obstrueted by tombstones or mounds.

It is perfectly possible to keep tombstones in good order,

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remove unwanted bush or tree saplings and keep grass approximately six to nine inches in height and paths clear, without jeopardising the wildlife potential of the site; such a system of management is also considerably cheaper than turning the churchyard into a suburban garden.

T h e whole question of conservation management is only concerned with that part of the churchyard not in active use.

T h e area being used must of course be maintained in a manner acceptable to the relatives of the deceased, and here close mowing may be necessary.

F. J. Bingley, Fiatford Mill, East Bergholt, Colchester, 25th April, 1978