Wartling and Herstmonceux Churchyards. Their history and present place in nature conservation

The Churches of St. Mary Magdalene Wartling and All Saints Herstmonceux possess historic Churchyards. Far more than a cemetery that cares for those that are held in its embrace over the many past generations in a unique way, and this care may well date back to Saxon times.  The management of their surrounding fields have changed from using Oxen to horse to Traction Engines to tractors. The churchyard however remains a seasonal reminder of the plant and wildlife of the past centuries.

they are places where many people visit in order to find peace and solace, where some make a regular or annual visit to lay flowers, and others journey from across the world to visit the last resting place of an ancestor before the family emigrated to the New World.   No longer do sheep graze there to mow, but the plants and wildlife still flourish under the love and care that is given. Recent events and surveys carried out in Wartling Churchyard showed that there were over 70 species of moths (please see the News Page for that event details) 37 varieties of Moss and Liverworts etc, 90 varieties of vascular plants, ranging from Sycamore Trees to Ox-eye Daisy and 108 varieties of Lichen, as well as bird an animal life that is increasingly being excluded from previous habitats. In Wartling Church you will find a book with the details of the surveys.

The Churchyards are not like a park, garden or cemetery with distinct edges, straight lines or geometrical curves, but resemble a cottage garden, beloved of very many and usually of the sort voted the public winner in the Chelsea Flower Show. It then appeals to our genetic makeup, allowing any of us to visit whenever the need is there for us to do so, and relax in quiet contemplation with the creation of nature. A place where perhaps we realise that, despite the stress and strain of daily life, we are a part of something much bigger.

You can read about our local area HERE

And you can read about our local farmland HERE