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...
Monday 22nd May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Prayer for a Growing Church in the Corpus Christi Chapel
2.15 pm Tiny Tots in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Ringers' practice
8.00 pm Parochial Church Council meets in the Breakspear Room
Tuesday 23rd May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Tuesday Coffee in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
Wednesday 24th May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
11.00 am Quiet Reflection in the Corpus Christi Chapel
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.45 for 8.00 pm Deanery Synod meets at St Mary's, Watford
8.00 pm Social Committee meets at 7 Fernhills
8.00 pm Bereavement Visitors meet at St Saviour's
Thursday 25th May - Ascension Day
8.15 am Prayers for the local church and community in St Lawrence
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
11.00 am Funeral of Marvin Attwood in St Lawrence followed by Cremation
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
8.00 pm Parish Communion for the Patronal Festival at the Church of the Ascension
Friday 26th May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.00 am AHAL Coffee in the Henderson Hub
10.00 am Craft Group in the Church of the Ascension
2.00 pm Craft and Conversation in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
No Youth Choir practice
Saturday 27th May
11.00 am Spring Concert Series - Local Vocals, Parmiter's School, Francis Combe Academy
12.15 pm Bell Toll for WW1 soldier - Frederick Harvey How
Sunday 28th May - The Sixth Sunday of Easter
8.00 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
9.30 am Parish Communion with Seekers and Creche in St Lawrence
12.15 pm Baptism of Jackson Hanson in St Lawrence
6.30 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm MAP Meeting in the Breakspear Room - Making New Disciples
Monday 29th May
Bank Holiday
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
Tuesday 30th May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Tuesday Coffee in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
Wednesday 31st May
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
11.00 am Quiet Reflection in the Corpus Christi Chapel
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.00 pm Wedding rehearsal in St Lawrence
7.45 pm Choir practice in St Lawrence