Gray's elegy in a country churchyard! (120)

Strictly speaking, it's not really a country churchyard, but you get the picture. So, apologies to Thomas Gray.

It was another glorious autumn day, perfect for a late afternoon walk in the local cemetery (now, that does sound a bit weird!). St Mary's is our parish church. The building dates from the twelfth century, although much of the outside was renovated during Victorian times (I'll try to get some more photographs of the church another time). The graveyard is large and has

been in use throughout its history, although the oldest graves I can identify date from about 1750. So many of the tombstones are weathered too much to read any of the engravings. Does anyone know why these old gravestones have a second mini gravestone at the back of them ?

There are of course the obligatory yew trees

dominating the scene, and , sadly, many broken tombs, though there are notices up that the Borough Council are working their way through the different sections to repair and renovate the tombs and memorials. 

There is also a huge Victorian edifice, set up to commemorate a man and wife, but I have no idea now who they were.

Even though it's surrounded by roads it was an 

oasis of peace and serenity this afternoon, with just the background humof traffic, the buzzing of bees, birds chattering and squabbling and children using it as a shortcut on their way home from school.

I think the thing I love most about cemeteries are the human stories to be read there. I love to imagine the background to those bland statements, or flowery verses. Here are pictures of just a couple of them. So sad to think of the number of children that families lost in those days.