St. Margaret’s Churchyard

ST MARGARET’S CHURCHYARD

[two_third last=”no” class=”” id=””]St. Margaret’s Churchyard is an ‘open’ churchyard, managed by the PCC. It has two public footpaths running through it, and is surrounded by fields on two sides. It looks westwards across to St. Albans Abbey. Its mist notable grave is tht of Earl Alexander of Tunis, who lived in the village.[/two_third]
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Visitors to St. Margaret’s Church always remark how neat and tidy the churchyard looks. We must thank Steve for all the time he has spent strimming and mowing.

In recent years all churches with churchyards have been asked to leave some areas of grass uncut for conservation. At St. Margaret’s a border is left on three sides to allow wild flowers to grow and insects to live in peace. Exceptions are where any graves o f recent years are attended. There is also a patch near the seat here there is long grass and bushes behind suitable for birds’ nests.

Steve has seen interesting beetles, moths and butterflies among these natural areas. We have visits from rabbits and pheasants, the latter showing off the lovely colours of the male birds; sometimes red kites are flying overhead.

People can always help by cutting around headstones, removing artificial or dead flowers, and by removing spare vases and old nick-nacks. Glass containers should not be used: broken ones are dangerous to humans and animals. Also dog mess should be removed: there is a bin outside the small gate to the churchyard. Lately the hedge has been cut on two sides and we thank whoever did this for us. Anyone with a bit of spare time can pop in and do any little job, but please don’t wash mud off into the drain.

We thank Bob and Pam who see to the waste bins and find something to tidy up on their way to and fro. One last thing: we need to work out how to get a new rope onto the flag pole. The previous rope broke and someone pulled down the remaining piece. Advice, please.

Let’s keep all this area neat and tidy, which makes Ridge an attractive village.

Joan Badger and David Garrett, Churchwardens