St Mary Magdalene Church Policies

The establishment of the new area is an opportunity to make improvements to the churchyard and to ensure that we comply with Diocesan regulations. 

These regulations are not just ‘petty bureaucracy’ - they exist to preserve our churchyards as places of peace and tranquillity, where wildlife can flourish and visitors can feel close to God.  What we may  think is appropriate, may offend someone else tending the next plot. The regulations keep everybody to the same standards. They make the churchyard easier to manage, uncluttered and tidy. 

We really appreciate that people have expended much time and care maintaining their loved ones’ plots. Regular visitors may have noticed  that the churchyard maintenance has improved recently, thanks to the Probation Service Community Payback team and our volunteers. But we also need the support of churchyard visitors and those who look after graves to keep the churchyard a special place.  

In order to make sure our churchyards remain these special places of peace and  remembrance for everyone, now and in the future, English church law sets down rules and regulations. Each church, like St Mary Magdalene, is  responsible for making sure that our churchyard follows those legal  requirements. 

(For full details see the Diocesan Churchyard Handbook: this may be inspected on request to the Vicar or churchwardens, or  obtained from the Diocesan Office at 53 New Street, Chelmsford CM1 1AT, tel: 01245 294400 or http://www.chelmsford.anglican.org) 

Over the years, people have made changes and modifications to graves and to  ashes burial plots. As more people have made changes, others have followed suit. That’s meant there are now quite a number of items in our  churchyard that are not allowed including:  

-  monuments such as  statues or other stonework that have not been specifically approved by  faculty (legal permission) from the Diocese of Chelmsford. 

-  candles, wind chimes and other decorations.

-  artificial flowers (these are not allowed because they are not natural and can endanger wildlife).

-  extra plants and shrubs in pots on top of plots, make it impossible  to mow the grass and keep the churchyard looking its best. (With legal  permission, flower holders can be inlaid into gravestones).

What changes will we make, and when? 

What we are trying to do is to make sure our churchyard is always a place of quiet and repose, holy  ground where comfort is drawn from the peace provided by being close to God and to his church.  The rules and regulations we have to follow are there to help us to do this. That does mean that we are asking families to make changes to those graves and plots where, for all sorts of reasons, the regulations have not been observed. We understand that this is a very sensitive issue, and so we are happy to offer whatever pastoral support you might need. 

Please also ask if you are unsure what is allowed and what isn’t. 

So we request respectfully that all unauthorised structures, decorations, artificial flowers and extra pot  plants be removed by 31st July 2018. Any items left over by 31st October 2018, will be removed, labelled and bagged/boxed for collection by families within 12 months.  

We also ask, on a continuing basis, that: 

-  Plastic wrappings must be removed from flowers. 

-  All rubbish and discarded plants must be removed. 

Note  that ashes plots in the new created remains area will not be  individually marked or have tablets on them.  There is a single memorial  tablet on which names will be recorded, where required. The PCC will  keep accurate records of the location of ashes, the date of burial and  the name of the deceased. Please ask for more details about the new  Garden of Remembrance if you are interested. 

We’d like to  thank everybody involved in the churchyard for their understanding and  cooperation while we make these changes to improve the churchyard.  

Guidelines agreed by the PCC in May 2018