For several years, the listed ragstone wall to the western boundary of the churchyard had been in a very poor state of repair to the extent that a hole had appeared which was in danger of growing larger and ever more expensive to remedy. Having persuaded SDC to make good the damage to the wall, a group of volunteers – numbering close to thirty individuals – set about smartening up the rest of the churchyard. Since it is ‘closed’, it is the responsibility of FHDC to keep the area in order but over several years, despite their best efforts, it had become heavily overgrown with weeds and brambles and the trees required considerable pruning to bring everything back to a manageable level.
The work was carried out by volunteers from the Society and from St Leonard’s Church congregation with support from Colin Homewood, Andy Dartnall, Roger May, Stephen Bailey Landscaping and Veolia.
Since then, a regular programme of work has continued both on the churchyard grounds and, thanks to the skills of three volunteer stone masons – Colin, Andy and Roger - restoring many damaged headstones, various areas of damage to the walls, and installing new gates to the North Road entrance. To complete the transformation, the railings have been stripped and repainted by individuals from the Community Payback scheme with work completed by Society members.
We continue the work with regular ‘tidy-up sessions’ on Wednesday mornings, so do come and join us! Contact us.
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