Uncovering The Past part 3

March has been relatively dry and this has had an unforseen advantage in that a couple of the graves that on preliminary investigation  last year looked difficult to clean with a wet matted mass of roots and compacted leaf mould on the surface, however the dry state meant we could separate the compost and roots enabling us to trim the roots back. A light scrub and the surface is perfectly legible. The first one we have tidied up in this way is the grave of one Richard Lee of Hadfield , research reveals little on his background apart from the fact he was a wood turner, a busy occupation making spools for the cotton mills, the second one further up the churchyard is one Michael Jackson of Glossop died 20th January 1847 we still need to clean the surface of this one and do some research. Elsewhere we have planted out some Allium bulbs 'in the green' as they say, a number of varieties but one in particular I am looking forward to seeing is a very tall white variety called appropriately enough Everest. Until next time. 

February

 I am an early riser so the progress to lighter mornings is something I look forward to, this February it seems to have taken longer for the days to become lighter however we are now definitely at that point at the end of the month. The light in the churchyard always interests me with the effect of no tree canopy on a sunny day things are obviously lighter and plants start to come into growth, bulbs push through and elsewhere the new growth has lovely fresh shades of green particularly the honeysuckle rambling over the dead hedge. In the lower churchyard one of our team has done a splendid job of removing dead winter grass revealing a splendid view of snowdrops etc. Our various varieties of Alliums planted in pots last Autumn are doing very well and are ready to plant out which brings me to the point time to get some seeds sown under cover in fact another team member has sown some sweet Pea seeds harvested from last year's crop. As these were so successful last year we intend to make and erect a bigger growing frame. All very encouraging.

January 2025

 

January, the month that is 'midwinter' and it has lived up to that with a good mixed bag of cold wet and wintery weather with few Saturdays fit for working in the churchyard which is frustrating but a sunny Saturday morning was gratefully seized and quite a lot of clearing up was achieved and equally gratifying to observe the shoots of bulbs bravely pushing up shoots. A lot of last seasons leaves were cleared up and bagged, particularly from graves and the path opposite the South Porch door. Pausing for a mug of tea I was amused by the antics of a Blackbird and Robin rooting along the freshly cleared path obviously unearthing something worth eating.

December 2024

 

The colour of Springtime is in the flowers; the colour of Winter is in the imagination. Terri Guillemets. 

I am writing this on the last day of December 2024 so the shortest day the 21st has passed and we continue the long journey through Winter and into Spring. My Gardener's Almanac by Mr Alan Titchmarsh (a treasury of wisdom and inspiration through the year) also laments the lack of colour and suggests looking through seed catalogues for inspiration for the coming growing season and this has not been lost on us, we have collected together packets of seeds for sowing in springtime, with every intention of increasing the size of our Sweet Pea display. I put the opening quote on this entry because normally I would expect just so but imagine our delight on looking around the churchyard and finding the odd spot of colour here and there. I leave you with some pictures.

Wishing everyone all the very best for 2025 from The Friends of Old Glossop Churchyard Team. 

November

 

Apart from clearing away leaves etc November and indeed late Autumn seems a good time to tidy up around the gravestones and get around to the list of jobs. The Braddock grave that sited under the yew tree opposite the South Porch ( see a earlier post 'uncovering the past') sits lower than the bank of soil on three sides, it was always our intention to put some boards around the edge to retain the soil keeping the gravestone surface free from debris and so using some upcycled old boards this has now been done enabling us to plant up right to the edge. Another job has been to plant up a few pots with Allium bulbs which means we can plant them out 'in the green' in Springtime.

John Clare (1793-1864)

 

John Clare one of the great English poets wrote of the seasons and in particular Autumn.

Nature now spreads around in dreary hue.  A pall to cover all that summer knew;          Yet in the poets solitary way;                            Some pleasing objects for his praise delay; 

John Clare, The Shepherd's Calender (October) 1827.

John Clare expresses his sadness at the passing of summer but encourages us to look around and take pleasure in the colours the berries and the conkers on the path, the late flowering plants adding a splash of colour against the tall wands of grass. And so it is in the churchyard with the Calendula making such a bold splash of orange against the tall wands of grass and colours of Autumn. 

On the corner where the path down from Church Street South meets the West side of the church building we have planted Wallflowers, a different variety this year, Harlequin, multi coloured so a splash of colour and lovely scent to look forward to next spring. 

September

 

One of the aspects I personally like about working in the churchyard is the variety of jobs and the pleasure of seeing an area transformed I was not expecting a job to literally drop at my feet though! An exceptionally  strong wind lasting a couple of days left the churchyard littered with broken branches, so armed with a bow saw, croppers and secateurs we set about clearing up, the bigger wood will be used to add edges to planting areas and has been stacked on one side, the brush wood was neatly piled and made into a dead hedge, another winter habitat. Which reminds me, we must clean out the bird boxes. Elsewhere a replacement frame has been put around the sign next to the South Porch so it seemed a good time to tidy that area and plant up some urns we have been given with black grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) that has lovely white or violet flowers in spring.