The Parish of Flitwick
Church of England
Diocese of St Albans
The Churchyard
As you leave spend some time looking at the outside of the church. Notice the carved stone heads high up on the walls.
Now go round to the north side of the church to look at the Norman door.
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Part of our churchyard is kept close mown but some areas are being maintained as conservation areas where you may find many specimens of wild flowers and creatures such as slow worms.
The churchyard was extended in 1864 and in 1869 the church was given another piece of land on the opposite side of the road. Although people have been buried here for many hundreds of years most of the headstones are relatively modern, the oldest dating from about 1759. The graves of some former Vicars are near the porch.
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Wildlife Conservation
Well over 100 species of wildflowers have been recorded in the churchyard, not including trees and grasses. The churchyard is also the first in Bedfordshire in which 100 species of lichens have been recorded (this includes some species found across the road in the cemetery) and also has the highest number of mosses and liverworts (40) recorded for a Bedfordshire churchyard.
No rare orchids grow here; in fact, most of the wildflowers are quite common (although Thick Leaved Stonecrop, which has spread from the Manor next door to the walls of the church, grows nowhere else in Bedfordshire, so far as we know).
What makes the churchyard special is the diversity of vegetation found in a relatively small area. The plants support a wide range of insects, slugs, snails and other herbivores and these in turn feed birds, frogs, toads, slowworms, hedgehogs…This wealth of wildlife is possible because of the history of the churchyard, which has not been cultivated or sprayed with pesticides and fertilisers. It is a remnant of a habitat that was once common before the advent of intensive farming and the loss of countryside for housing development.
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To maintain this diversity, three areas of the churchyard have been set aside which are left uncut at different times of year. This allows a wide range of flowers to bloom and set seed. The largest of these areas in not cut until early July, which allows a succession of spring flowering plants to bloom and set seed. This area (which only became part of the churchyard in the early 1860s) looks at its best in early May.
A second area, dedicated to late spring flowering plants is left until mid August and a third area is cut early in the year but is then left until early October, to encourage flowers of high summer. These areas have been managed in this way since about 1988.
After cutting, the grass is left for a few days to dry out and is then raked up. The drying and raking helps to distribute seeds. Removing the cuttings is important because otherwise the grass would rot and release nitrogen, which would encourage the grass to grow more vigorously to the detriment of the wildflowers.
This is a churchyard not a nature reserve. Whilst we manage the churchyard to conserve and encourage wildflowers and wildlife, we are mindful of the need also to maintain it as a fit setting for the church. About half of the churchyard is mown weekly. We have a notice board that explains our policy to visitors, who might otherwise think that the churchyard is not being maintained properly, and also gives information on the wildflowers.
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Memorial Inscriptions
There are more than 100 headstones and other memorials in the churchyard.
The inscriptions from these have been recorded and published. Work is in progress on adding inscriptions in the churchyard extension (now part of the Town Council cemetery) on the opposite side of Church Road. See links to various records at the top of this page.
This page last updated 08/05/2008