New Mills Church

Friends of St George’s Churchyard

Churchyard update September Press Release 2008

Friends Indeed

Anyone walking past or through the churchyard surrounding St George’s, the Parish Church of New Mills, cannot fail to notice that things are changing! Hedges are being trimmed, trees lopped and tidied, borders weeded and cut straight. Nature is receiving a helping hand. A new group of churchyard carers has sprung into being – The Friends of St George’s Churchyard.

Partnership

High Peak Borough Council is responsible for the overall maintenance of the churchyard, now “closed” for burials, and the group of Friends has worked closely with the Council to achieve various improvements over the past year, including better waste management, path clearance, and adjustment to the frequency of grass cutting to allow wild flowers to flourish. The church field was not mown until late in the season to allow flowering plants to seed. Local children delighted in following the serpentine path that was mown through the high grass giving them an opportunity to look close-up at the wealth of flowers and reddish-brown grass tops.

Regular Working Parties

A programme of regular working parties is underway – from time to time the Friends are joined by High Peak Volunteer Rangers. Anyone can take part in the work as there is plenty to do. People who are interested are encouraged to pay a subscription of £1 so they can be kept in touch with what is planned.

The Inaugural Meeting

On Sunday 21^st September there will be a meeting for anyone who is interested in this project. Coffee and biscuits will be available from 10.30am in St George’s Parish Hall on Church Lane. Then at 11.00am existing Friends and those wishing to find out more will go across to the church to meet together and adopt a constitution, form a management committee and then take a walk around the churchyard to note points of interest, look at work that is already in hand and plan for the future.

Open to all

The Friends of the Churchyard is intended to be an organisation open to all comers – not just present members of St George’s Church. If you have family buried in the churchyard, if the war memorial and war graves mean a lot to you, if you enjoy the green space and like wild plants and birdlife, if you have an interest in local history, or if you simply like working outdoors with a challenge, then come along on Sunday 21^st September and become a Friend of the Churchyard.

Wild plants survey

John Hawksford and his colleague Tony Smith from New Mills Natural History Society have carried out the first of three inspections to record the wild plants present in the churchyard. We are most grateful to them for giving their expert services for no charge.

The list of their preliminary findings can be seen below. This list will be added to when they return in June and again in August to record the plants that emerge later in the year.

John reports that the findings are typical of a field before the use of modern herbicides and fertilizers – reflecting the churchyard’s origin as a farmer’s field 150 years ago.

To give the plants present the best chance of flowering and setting seed, the older areas of the churchyard will not be mown until later in the year.

A bonus of leaving the church field to grow naturally has been the wonderful show of Lady’s Smock during May – at the end of May buttercups are beginning to show.

Acer pseudoplatanus	Sycamore	Field also
Achillea millefolium	Yarrow
Agrostis canina	Velvet Bent	Field only
Agrostis capillaris	Common Bent	Field only
Alchemilla xanthochlora	a Lady's-mantle
Aesculus hippocastanum	Horse-chestnut
Alliaria petiolata	Garlic Mustard	Field only
Alopecurus pratensis	Meadow Foxtail	Field also
Alopecurus geniculatus	Marsh Foxtail	Field only
Anthoxanthum odoratum	Sweet Vernal Grass	Field also
Arrhenatherum elatius	False Oat-grass
Athyrium filix-femina	Lady-fern
Bellis perennis	Daisy	Field also
Cardamine flexuosa	Wavy Bitter-cress	Field also
Cardamine hirsuta	Hairy Bitter-cress
Cardamine pratensis	Cuckoo-flower	Field also
Carex flacca	Glaucous Sedge
Carex hirta	Hairy Sedge
Cerastium fontanum ssp. vulgare	Common Mouse-ear
Cerastium glomeratum	Sticky Mouse-ear	Field only
Chamaenerion angustifolium	Rosebay Willowherb	Field also
Cirsium arvense	Creeping Thistle
Conopodium majus	Pignut
Crataegus monogyna	Hawthorn
Cynosurus cristatus	Crested Dog's-tail	Field only
Dactylis glomerata	Cocks-foot	Field also
Deschampsia caespitosa	Tufted Hair-grass
Dryopteris dilatata	Broad Buckler-fern
Dryopteris filix-mas	Male-fern
Epilobium hirsutum	Great Willowherb	Field only
Epilobium montanum	Broad-leaved Willowherb	Field also
Epilobium obscurum	Short-fruited Willowherb
Epilobium parviflorum	Hoary Willowherb
Epipactis helleborine	Broad-leaved Helleborine	Field only
Equisetum arvense	Field also Horsetail
Euphorbia peplus	Petty Spurge
Fagus sylvatica	Beech
Festuca gigantea	Giant Fescue
Festuca rubra	Red Fescue	Field also
Fraxinus excelsior	Ash	Field also
Galium aparine	Cleavers
Geranium robertianum	Herb-Robert	Field only
Geum urbanum	Wood Avens	Field only
Hedera helix ssp. helix	Common Ivy
Heracleum sphondylium	Hogweed
Holcus lanatus	Yorkshire-fog	Field also
Holcus mollis	Creeping Soft-grass
Hyacinthoides hispanica x non-scripta	Hybrid Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta	Bluebell
Hypochaeris radicata	Common Cat's-ear	Field only
Ilex aquifolium	Holly
Ilex aquifolium x perado (I. x altaclerensis)	Highclere Holly
Juncus effusus	Soft Rush
Lathyrus pratensis	Meadow Vetchling
Ligustrum ovalifolium	Garden Privet
Lolium perenne	Perennial Rye-grass	Field only
Luzula campestris	Field also Wood-rush	Field also
Lysimachia nummularia	Creeping-Jenny
Mahonia aquifolium	Oregon Grape
Moehringia trinervis	Three-nerved Sandwort
Myosotis sylvatica	Wood Forget-me-not
Persicaria bistorta	Common Bistort
Pilosella aurantiaca	Fox-and-cubs
Plantago lanceolata	Ribwort Plantain	Field also
Plantago major	Greater Plantain	Field only
Poa annua	Annual Meadow-grass	Field also
Poa pratensis	Smooth Meadow-grass
Poa trivialis	Rough Meadow-grass	Field also
Potentilla reptans	Creeping Cinquefoil
Potentilla x mixta	A hybrid Cinquefoil
Quercus robur	Pedunculate Oak
Ranunculus acris	Meadow Buttercup	Field also
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. bulbilifer	a Lesser celandine
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficaria	a Lesser celandine	Field also
Ranunculus repens	Creeping Buttercup	Field also
Rubus fruticosus agg.	Bramble	Field also
Rumex acetosa ssp. acetosa	Common sorrel	Field also
Rumex obtusifolius	Broad-leaved Dock	Field also
Sambucus nigra	Elder	Field also
Sanguisorba officinalis	Great Burnet
Scrophularia nodosa	Common Figwort
Senecio jacobaea	Common Ragwort	Field also
Sonchus asper	Prickly Sow-thistle	Field also
Sonchus oleraceus	Smooth Sow-thistle	Field only
Stachys sylvatica	Hedge Woundwort	Field only
Stellaria holostea	Greater Stitchwort
Stellaria media	Common Chickweed
Stellaria uliginosa	Bog Stitchwort	Field only
Taraxacum sp.	Dandelion agg.	Field also
Tilia cordata x platyphyllos (T. x vulgaris)	Lime
Trifolium medium	Zig-zag Clover
Trifolium pratense	Red Clover
Trifolium repens	White Clover
Urtica dioica	Common Nettle	Field only
Veronica filiformis	Slender Speedwell	Field also
Veronica hederifolia ssp. hederifolia	an Ivy-leaved speedwell
Veronica persica	Common Field-speedwell
Veronica serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia	Thyme-leaved speedwell	Field also
Vicia sepium	Bush Vetch	Field also
Viola riviniana	Common Dog-violet

Atrichum undulatum	a hair-moss
Barbula convoluta	a moss
Barbula fallax	a moss
Barbula unguiculata	a moss
Brachythecium populeum	a moss
Brachythecium rutabulum	a moss
Bryum capillare	a moss
Calliergon cuspidatum	a moss
Campylopus introflexus	a moss
Ceratodon purpureus	a moss
Didymodon insulanus	a moss
Eurhynchium hians	a moss
Eurhynchium praelongum	a moss
Fissidens taxifolius	a moss
Grimmia pulvinata	a moss
Hypnum cupressiforme sens. lat.	a moss
Mnium hornum	a moss
Rhynchostegium confertum	a moss
Rhynchostegium murale	a moss
Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus	a moss
Schistidium apocarpum sens. lat.	a moss
Tortula muralis	a moss

Lophocolea bidentata	a liverwort

Lecanora expallens	a lichen
Lecania erisybe	a lichen
Lecanora muralis	a lichen
Lecidella scabra	a lichen

Bombus terrestris	Buff-tailed Bumble Bee

Lasiommata megera	Wall (a butterfly)

Note
1. The list is now, perhaps 95% complete, although further visits will be made.

2. There were disappointingly few lichens: details of their locations will be supplied later.
The flowering plant total is encouraging for such a site.

3. Veronica hederifolia ssp. hederifolia (as against ssp. lucorum) is very uncommon in the High Peak.
It occurs half way up the main drive on the east side and may have have been introduced
via car tyres. It was unhappy in the shaded situation and may not re-appear in future years.

4. There is a great deal of Alchemilla xanthochlora and Trifolium medium and also a large patch of
Polygonum bistorta. These are all very uncommon in much of Britain, but fairly often seen in
the Hayfield/New Mills/Disley/Marple area.

5. The orchid, Epipactis helleborine, was once fairly common in the churchyard, but is now very rare there.

6. According to the normal convention of such lists, flowering plants that have obviously been
planted are not included, except in the case of trees.

Below are some pictures of the wild flowers in bloom

Churchyard Friends activities

John Lord and his team have put up bird and bat boxes and continued to keep on top of saplings and suckers. Please join us for the next working party on Wednesday 25^th June at 10am

Churchyard update May 2008

There has been a considerable improvement in the appearance of the churchyard in the last few weeks. Three of the steel crates have been donated to New Mills School, as they were to us many years ago. We hope to remove the remaining one very shortly. We thank High Peak Borough Council for clearing the waste out of the crates. We are asking visitors to take their dead flowers etc home for disposal if at all possible or to use the wheelie bins near the main church door, or the litter bins on Church Lane. We are grateful to everyone who helps in this way to keep the churchyard looking good.

Our volunteers produced a massive pile of prunings, and thanks again to the council for shredding some of these, and a huge thanks to "S'N'S TREE'S" for generously dealing with most of the pile at no charge.

Birds nesting boxes and bat roosting boxes have been made according to plans and suggestions of authorities in these matters and they will soon be placed in appropriate places, in order to promote wild life in the area.

If you support us or want to help our efforts, please join the “Friends of the Churchyard". See below for details.

John Lord

**********************

The Parish Church Council have resolved to set up a churchyard friends group in order to invite church members, and also people in the local community who have an interest in the churchyard, to take an active interest in caring for it.

A constitution is in preparation, taking advice to ensure that it will make the group eligible to apply for grant funding. When complete there will be an inaugural meeting to formally launch the group and appoint a management committee.

It is proposed that the aims will be

To ensure a fitting setting for the memorial

To provide a peaceful green space for the community

To provide a haven for wildlife

The activities of the group will include

the development of a plan to manage and enhance the churchyard in accordance with the aims

organising working parties

liasing with the Borough Council

fundraising and applying for appropriate grant funding to enhance the churchyard

Many of the group’s activities include Litter picking, pruning, general tidying and bulb planting all being done by members of the congregation lead by John and Barbara Lord and working parties include volunteers from the High Peak Rangers and members of the Remembrance Day Committee.

An agreement has been reached with representatives of the Borough Council for the removal of the iron cages and a system to monitor the use of wheelie bins to manage the waste from floral tributes etc.

Many people will be aware of the mammoth project undertaken by Marjorie Jones, with assistance from Roy and other members of the Local History Society, in surveying and recording the memorials and inscriptions.

Please show your appreciation of these efforts and support for the future improvement of the churchyard and JOIN NOW! – there’s no need to wait for the formal launch.

Membership is open to individuals who share the aims of the group, on payment of a subscription proposed to be £1.00

Associate membership will be offered to organisations who may wish be affiliated, such as schools, undertakers, local societies.

To download a membership form please click here.

John & Barbara Lord - Organisers

Peter Harrison - Litter Picking

Placing of Bat Boxes

Friends at work