Charfield Burial Ground

...by Mark Rosher (bish)

Tree Funds can be used for large plantings of woodland saplings, or a single tree. It is the latter that I write about here. A small part of a larger project, the tree I speak of here will become a focal point for a new burial ground in the west of England.

My village has not had the facility to bury it's own dead for more than a decade, after the church grounds were deemed 'full' and closed to new interments. This placed folk who had been born, had grown, worked, loved and raised their children in the village in the position of being buried miles away outside the village when they died.

After some five years of work, the Parish Council has created a new burial ground from a donated paddock of semi-improved grassland atop the rise above the village. From the new ground views extend across the Cotswold Escarpment - it is a beautiful site!

The creation of the ground has not been easy. Located as it is beside an thirteenth century Grade One listed church, we had to bring in archaeologists to check for buried remains before we started levelling the ground. We tried to explain to the planning authority that there was more chance of finding remains after we began burying folk, but they weren't impressed... We also had to check for hydrology and for non-human folk who might be living there already - hedgehogs and slow worms especially - and ensure we did not disturb them. In fact we were already intent on improving the biodiversity and making a 'nature enhanced' environment, but all these investigations took time.

One thing the planning authority asked for was the planting of a Wild Service Tree, as this native and beneficial tree was relatively rare in the locality. As a Member of The Druid Network I approached the trustees and asked for a donation toward the planting of this specimen tree.

The restrictions on TDN funding are clear and simple. The request must come from a Member [tick], the land in question must be open to the public and freely accessible to pagans [tick]... well you can read the terms here. 

Our Wild Service Tree was planted in the first week of December 2011ce - the first week of winter, if you will. Having gone to the trouble of securing a good specimen it did look awfully small when I saw it, staked upright at the edge of the ground. It's placement was both to provide a visual focus but also such that it did not screen the view from the couple of neighbouring homes.

I intend to update this page, season by season, to show the development of its growth. If you've found this page and nothings been done for a while... email me! 

You can also find out more about the ground at our web site http://www.charfieldburialground.org.uk