Conservation: Natural Heritage
graveyard conservation | general advice
Graveyard Conservation
Paradise Preserved
In 2002, English Heritage and English Nature published Paradise Preserved to provide guidance on the conservation and management of cemeteries. The report highlights the importance of conserving both the man-made and the natural elements within cemeteries and gives a short history of the English cemetery, useful contacts and sources of funding and further information. Paradise Preserved provides useful background information on Conservation Management Plans; however, because key differences exist between cemeteries in Scotland and England, not least in the areas of geology, legislation, policy and practice, the guidance primarily applies to an English context.
Churchyard Lichens Fact Sheets
The British Lichen Society has produced a facts sheet on churchyard lichens, which answers basic questions and suggests sources for further information for the following topics:
- Churchyard Lichens (a 1994 article about the importance of the churchyard habitat)
- Churchyard Lichens Master Card (the churchyard lichen card for recording lichens in individual churchyards)
- Churchyard Lichens Fact Sheet (a comprehensive article of general interest about lichens in churchyards, with references and contacts)
- Diocesan contacts for lichens in the United Kingdom (a list of lichen contacts for each diocese)
- Lichens on man-made surfaces (how to encourage and remove lichens)
Identifying Lichen, Moss and Algae - free guidance notes
Field guidance notes (get download) prepared by the CSA's Carved Stones Adviser Project to help volunteer surveyors to distinguish different biological growths found on gravestones.
Habitat Action plan for Churchyards and Cemeteries
Habitat Action plan for Churchyards and Cemeteries produced by the London Biodiversity Partnership. The plan aims to develop a strategic approach to the protection, management and enhancement of the nature conservation value of cemeteries and churchyards within an urban context.
The Living Churchyard by David Manning
The Living Churchyard by David Manning. This article first appeared in The Conservation and Repair of Ecclesiastical Buildings 1999
Bisley Road Stroud Site Management Plan
The cemetery comprises the Victorian Chapel of Rest, old gravestones, unimproved limestone grassland, scrub, plantation woodland, specimen trees and boundary walls. Bisley Road Stroud Site Management Plan is part of the Local Council's plans to install interpretive information points to help inform visitors to the site of local history and interesting wildlife.
General Advice
Wildlife and Buildings Technical Guidance for Architects, Builders, Regional Buildings Managers and Others by the National Trust
Wildlife and Buildings Technical Guidance for Architects, Builders, Regional Buildings Managers and Others, produced by the National Trust (England). This manual provides technical guidance for people who create and maintain buildings and other structures. Although not specific to graveyards, there is much useful information which can be applied to the built and natural elements of burial landscapes.
Page last updated August 2006