St Lawrence Churchyard
A LIVING CHURCHYARD
We want our churchyard to be a 'living churchyard'. This doesn't mean that we just let it grow wild - each area is properly managed to encourage different flowers, butterflies, moths and birds.
Some areas of grass are not mown during the summer months - this has enabled a Pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis and various wild flowers to grow for the last few years. This also allows caterpillars that feed on the wildflowers and grasses time to pupate. In this way we are trying to conserve and encourage as diverse a range of wildflowers as possible.
There are over one hundred species of wild flowers living here, not to mention grasses, trees, lichens, mosses, fungi and all the living creatures that depend on them. This diversity of wildlife is possible because of the history of the churchyard - it has not been cultivated nor has it been sprayed with herbicides or fertilisers. The church walls and headstones provide the conditions needed by slow-growing lichens, many of which are only found in churchyards in this part of the country.
It is not a nature reserve - we aim to achieve a balance between conserving wildlife and maintaining the churchyard as a fit setting for the church. If you would like to help us maintain the churchyard, a working party meets regularly each month, usually on the 1st Saturday of the month, from 9.30 am onwards, with a break around 11.00 am for some refreshment. The date of the next working party is usually advertised in the noticeboard alongside the footpath to the north of the church.
If you visit please look around and let us know if you see anything unusual or interesting. We would also welcome any comments, questions or suggestions.
Please click on the appropriate word below to see lists of what has been seen in the churchyard.
PLANT NAMES
BIRDS
BUTTERFLIES
MOTHS
LICHENS
The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has produced a pamphlet about churchyards which you can read by clicking here.
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The coming week...
Weekly Leaflet
Monday 24th June
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
1.30 pm Burial of Ashes of Desmond & Joyce Dear in the Garden of Remembrance
2.15 pm Tiny Tots in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Ringers practice in St Lawrence tower
Tuesday 25th June
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Tuesday Coffee in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
12.30 pm Light lunch followed by Pilgrim Course on 'The Creeds' in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.00 pm Youth Club meets in the church hall
7.00 for 7.30 pm MU Supper at Hunters
Wednesday 26th June
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.30 am Carers Network meets in the Methodist hall
11.15 am Quiet Reflection in St Lawrence
12.00 noon Holy Communion in St Lawrence followed by light lunch in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.45 pm Choir practice in St Lawrence
Thursday 27th June
8.15 am Early Prayer in St Lawrence
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
Friday 28th June
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.00 am Craft Morning in the Tin Church
NO AHAL Coffee today
1.00 pm Ascension Acorns in the Tin Church
2.00 pm Craft & Conversation in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
6.15 pm Youth Choir practice in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
Saturday 29th June
4.00 pm Ordination of Priests (including the Revd Vanessa Kerswill) in St Albans Cathedral
Sunday 30th June - The Second Sunday after Trinity
8.00 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
9.30 am Parish Communion with Seekers and Creche in St Lawrence
11.15 am Holy Communion in the Tin Church
11.15 am Ordination of Deacons (including Kate Carter) in St Albans Cathedral
12.45 pm Christening for Rachel Heard in St Lawrence
6.30 pm Taize Service in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Pilgrim Course on 'The Creeds' in the Tin Church
Monday 1st July
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
2.15 pm Tiny Tots in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Ringing practice in St Lawrence tower
Tuesday 2nd July
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Tuesday Coffee in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
12.30 pm Light lunch followed byPilgrim Course on 'The Creeds' in the Breakspear Room, St Lawrence
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.00 pm Youth Club meets in the church hall
Wednesday 3rd July
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.00 am Coffee Morning in the Tin Church
11.15 am Quiet Reflection in St Lawrence
12.00 noon Holy Communion in St Lawrence followed by light lunch in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.45 pm Choir practice in St Lawrence