Keeping our churchyards looking beautiful
Across our four churches we have both “open” and “closed” churchyards. These are cared for variously by local authorities and volunteers from our churches, who work hard to mow the grass and to keep wildflower sections; to tidy the space and to encourage wildlife. Together everyone contributes to making God’s acre beautiful and safe and pleasant places to go to remember loved ones, to enjoy peace and quiet and to be immersed in nature.
Our churchyards must follow the directions laid down in the Ely Diocesan Churchyard Regulations (see button below)
These govern the sorts of stone that may be used for memorials, the size and design of headstones and memorial plaques and the types of flowers and objects which can be left on graves.
Only real flowers may be left on graves. No artificial flowers may be left on graves. Poppy and Christmas wreaths may be placed on graves, but must be removed by 2nd February 2022 (Candlemas, the end of Christmas). Free-standing vases may only be left at graves if they are in use - empty glass vases are a potential hazard for wildlife and for mowers. Whilst it is possible to leave a few objects, such as statues or toys on graves for the first year, we do not recommend that anything that is valuable or sentimental is left on graves in case these things get damaged, which will cause you grief.
Please would all grave tenders make sure that they have removed any artificial flowers, statues, unused vases or other objects from their family graves by 2nd February 2022. Anything left on graves after that date will be removed and disposed of.
If you want a lasting floral memorial on a family grave, we suggest that you plant bulbs in front of the headstone. These will increase over the years, and it is possible to have fresh flowers growing from bulbs in almost every month of the year, making each grave a beautiful memorial to a loved-one and also contributing to the beauty of the churchyard as a whole. Please ask about suitable bulbs to plant.
We want God’s acre to honour God and also honour those buried there. Please help us keep our churchyards beautiful.
