Volunteering
Main point – anyone who would like to volunteer to help maintain the churchyard would be very welcome – please Contact form on the Official website – we would love to hear from you.
Many people (of faith and no faith) already volunteer large amounts of their time to keep St. Mary’s open. Over 3,000 “volunteer hours” were required for the conservation of the War Memorial and a further 1,000 for the conservation of the Alabaster Arch.
The Church is open at some period on 3 days of the week – this takes volunteer effort.
Finance
First, we must clarify finances – whatever your views of the Church of England finances, the basic fact, which cannot be altered, is that each individual church is responsible for financing its own building and churchyard maintenance and repairs, something that requires much effort each year with a congregation that is not getting any younger.
Therefore St. Mary’s has very limited funds and resources at its disposal.
The overall cost of keeping St. Mary’s running is at least £8 per hour excluding special projects.
You may know that both the War Memorial and the Alabaster Arch have been conserved in recent years – all the funds (around £100,000) had to be raised by us – none were provided from the ‘centre’.
Small things like people taking their rubbish home when tending graves can make a difference – the skip costs us £96 to empty.
Responsibilities
Different areas of the Churchyard are the responsibility of different organisations. Despite being a Church of England Churchyard, anyone from the parish of any faith or none may be buried there under civil law.
The Closed Churchyard, the two sections to the south or village side of the Church, are maintained by the Parish Council as prescribed by law.
The rest is the responsibility of St. Mary’s. There are no funds to employ anyone to maintain the Churchyard, so it is done by volunteers.
Churchyard Maintenance
The “New Churchyard”, that section to the west (Castle side) of the church where current burials and internments take place, is maintained by a husband and wife volunteer team from Tutbury who tend the Churchyard almost every week during the growing season and have done for many years. They have performed a tireless task and I am sure the village, as well as the Church, is very grateful for their efforts keeping that section of the Churchyard looking so lovely.
The rest of the Churchyard (North and East) is maintained by the “Holy Mowers” – a loose group of volunteers who work as and when they can but concentrating on Wednesday mornings.
The area immediately to the north and east of the church has few gravestones and kerbs round the graves, making it the easiest to maintain.
The section at the east end of the churchyard, to the east of the path, has burials from living memory and is the next priority, but this is a very difficult area to manage because of all the kerbs around the graves and the closeness of the graves. Only strimmers can work in this area. It is not easy work and it is done as and when resource is available.
In those times when the eastern section is under control, then the section to the north of the terrace steps is tackled – often in a very poor state.
Note that the War Graves are at the top of the terrace and to the north end of the Churchyard making them very difficult to maintain.
Maintenance Success
One area where we have had success in recent years is “Care for a Square”. The “Rose Squares” along the East/West path are now maintained by individuals – people maintain one or two squares each – a manageable size, and it seems to work – these look very good. There are some available for anyone who would like to add to the beauty of the Churchyard
Other Points of Interest
Grave “Ownership” – although people often think that they “buy” a grave plot, they actually only buy the right to bury someone in that plot, and the right probably only lasts for 50 or 75 years.
The ownership of the ground always resides with the church, and when the right to bury someone was purchased, the person doing the purchasing will have signed to say they will abide by Churchyard Regulations.
Regulations: it is worth noting that all the regulations in a Church of England Churchyard are very similar to those in Municipal Cemeteries; in general Councils enforce the regulations for more strictly, removing items that do not fit within regulations without consultation or warning.
Ornaments and Decorations: items left on graves such as vases and ornaments can be dangerous – if accidentally touched by a strimmer they can shatter and cause serious injury – please abide by the regulations.
Dog Fouling: have you ever accidentally strimmed dog mess left behind by some uncaring dog owner – some of our volunteers unfortunately have – they then have to go home, wash all their clothes and have a shower – it is disgusting! Please pick up after your dog.
Volunteering – You Can Make a Difference
As said before, anyone who would like to volunteer to help maintain the churchyard would be more than welcome. You do not have to work as part of a group – please contact Roger Sharp – see Contacts – we would love to hear from you – see also the Volunteering page.
Finally – Thank You
Finally, a thank you to all those who are able to maintain areas around their loved one’s graves, particularly to the east end – every bit you can do enables the Sudbury volunteers to move on to other sections.
If you would like to meet someone in the Churchyard to discuss a particular issue, please use the contact form on the Offcial Website.