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 16th April
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
11.30 am Funeral of Sandra Hastrick in St Lawrence
2.15 pm Tiny Tots in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Bell ringing practice in St Lawrence tower
8.00 pm MAP Steerting Group meets in the Breakspear Room
Tuesday 17th April
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
8.00 pm Mothers' Union meets in the Breakspear Room
Wednesday 18th April
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
12.00 noon Home Communion at Abbeyfield
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.45 pm Choir practice in St Lawrence
8.00 pm Bereavement Visitors meet in the Methodist small hall
Thursday 19th April
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 20th April
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.00 am Craft Morning in the Tin Church
10.00 am AHAL Coffee in the Henderson Hub, Abbots Langley High Street
2.00 pm Craft & Conversation in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
6.15 pm Youth Choir in the Breakspear Room
Saturday 21st April
7.00 for 7.30 pm African-themed Dinner and Wine-Tasting in the church hall in aid of Malawi 2018
Sunday 22nd April - The Fourth Sunday of Easter
8.00 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
9.30 am Parish Communion with Seekers and Creche in St Lawrence
12.30 pm Christening for Jaxson May in St Lawrence
6.30 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
Monday 23rd April
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
11.00 am Burial of Ashes of Florence & Paul Marsh
12.00 noon Bell toll for WW1 soldier Percy Horace Cox
2.15 pm Tiny Tots in the Breakspear Room
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.30 pm Ringing practice in St Lawrence tower
Tuesday 24th April
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
8.00 pm Property Committee in the Breakspear Room
Wednesday 25th April
9.30 am Morning Prayer in St Lawrence
10.15 am Holy Communion in St Lawrence
10.30 am Carers' Network in the Methodist Church
11.00 am Quiet Reflection in the Corpus Christi Chapel
5.15 pm Evening Prayer in St Lawrence
7.45 pm Choir practice in St Lawrence