It was sunny yesterday so I felt the ground would have dried sufficiently to make a churchyard visit viable: I was correct. Although it was not exactly warm it was fine and I got a lot of checking done.
Over the next few weeks (months) I shall put together the memorial inscription book for the church where I am working. I have my next project planned for next year although it is further away.
What is not generally realised by people, I feel, is that church services take place during the week between Sundays. Vicars are obliged to say the daily office and often do so by themselves.
I went out recording headstone inscripitons today and the church lights were on: there were just a couple of cars parked outside the church gate whereas, normally, there are none. I wondered if it was a meeting of some sort. I didn't need to enter the church because, pausing by the south door, I could clearly hear words which I recognised a part of the communion rite.
Eventually the vicar and an older gentleman emerged and walked up the churchyard path. I introduced myself because - although the PCC know am working on the MIs - the vicar has not actually been on touch, although he knew about it.
He thought I was part of the The National Burial Grounds Survey and wondered where my special equipment was. I said I just had a camera, paper and pencil.
The National survey will not - as far as I know - record inscriptions but what I have seen so far is pretty impressive as regards accuracy and locations.
I agree that a church bench should be repainted. One comment was that “It is inappropriate for mourners to be faced with an emotive symbol when respectful neutrality in such sacred surroundings is a reasonable sign of respect.”
So many things, these days, are done because they are flavour of the month and people like to jump on a bandwagon.
Before I read the story I thought it was in support of the LGBTQ+ community but it seems it was an NHS rainbow which the colours sought to convey.
So, if only because this colour combination can be misconstrued, it should be repainted.
I have been out today recording memorial inscriptions at a church where I am working on the entire churchyard - a huge task to take on single-handed.
Very often, as well as names and dates of death, a headstone will carry a long or short verse, not always from the bible. I have seen hymn verses used. Today I was confused by one I saw but I looked it up when I got home. It read:
Even to Hoary Hairs will I carry you
This is, in fact, a quotation from Isaiah 46:4, although it has hoar rather than hoary.
You live and learn.
More and more churchyards are becoming places of refuge for insects and wildlife so you will fin dmore of the things shown below. A different hive of activity perhaps? (pun intended!)
One doesn't come across a kissing gate very often then, like buses, several are encountered on the trot. here is one of them.
Many churchyards are well looked-after but even those which are cared-for often have a policy of leaving some of the area to go wild. The image below shows the result which is good for wildlife but not so good for genealogists! Had the headatones been photographed and uploaded to FindaGrave in advance that would have been a compromise.
There is now a trend to rewild churchyards which I suppose is a good idea in many ways.
One problem is that this often means a headstone become overgrown with ivy. Again, this would be fine (in some ways) if the detailed were recorded first. So often one tries to read a headstone to find that it is illegible.
