St Clement’s Churchyard

 Bluebells in the churchyard April 2017

St Clement's Churchyard is a place of peaceful beauty and gives a home to a wide variety of wild-life. In order to maintain the churchyard in this state there is a set of regulations imposed by the Salisbury Diocese for all Church of England churchyards in the diocese. These regulations, which are available below are set by the Chancellor of the diocese of Salisbury and the PCC is obligated to enforce these.  This includes the removal of items, such as plastic or silk flowers and other memorials such as toys, windchimes or lights.  The removal of items is done on a bi monthly basis.  The full list of regulations are here: Regulations.  Although the church office will be happy to answer any questions, these can also be directed to the diocesan registry via: 

The churchyard is deliberately kept wild and unmown until after the wildflowers have seeded each year, with regular removal of non native/ invasive plants and management of wildlife happening from March until July.  In July/August each year a churchyard day is carried out where the grass is mown and any items which are not in keeping with the chancellors regulations are removed.  

If you should want a particular memorial on a grave please discuss this with the Vicar, or one of the clergy.  The regulations may be found by following this link:

Friends of St. Clement’s Churchyard:

The ‘Friends of St Clement’s Churchyard’ is a group of people donating to a fund that provided an income for the upkeep of the churchyard. 

Unlike many churchyards that have been neglected over recent years, ours is maintained to a high standard, consistently winning awards from the Living Churchyards Project organised by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. It is a vibrant, beautiful space, with many wild flowers, providing a suitable habitat for a wide range of different creatures and birds.

If you, or someone you know, wish to make an annual donation to the fund, please complete a form available in the church, or send your cheque (payable to St. Clement’s PCC and marked ‘Friends of St. Clement’s Churchyard’ on the back), to the Church Office. These donations may be Gift Aided to further increase the fund. The form may also be downloaded by clicking here:

 For more information please contact Mrs Angela Fisher through the church office (telephone 01202 733390).