Holy Trinity, Prestwood has a large and well-loved churchyard. It is the final resting place for many villagers, and their friends and relatives spend time rememebring them and tending their graves. Due to the amazing care over the years of our dedicated team of volunteers, with careful regular mowing and good management, our churchyard is now also an important and valuable example of an increasingly rare grassland site. In fact, with 23 different varieties of waxcap mushrooms, we are designated as an internationally important waxcap grassland. Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers who help to manage the churchyard. We need more of you! If you would like to volunteer some time all equipment and training is provided. Please speak to the Rector.
Holy Trinity's churchyard has been included in the Caring for God's Acre 'Burial Grounds to Inspire' project. Caring for God’s Acre was established in 2000 and is a national charity, promoting the conservation of burial sites and supporting the volunteers who look after and maintain them. Often these sites have been set apart for centuries and as such offer much needed refuge for our native wildlife of all varieties – plants, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles. 'Burial Grounds to Inspire' is a selection of burial grounds from across the UK which they would recommend visiting if you are looking for a well managed site rich in wildlife and heritage. You can find our page, which of course mentions our internationally important fungi habitat, here https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/churchyard/prestwood-holy-trinity/.
A fascinating article has been published in "British Wildlife Magazine" about out churchyard. Access it here.
This version of the Churchyard Management Plan was adopted by the PCC in May 2018. It sets out how we manage the churchyard, balancing the different needs and expectations of the many people who use the churchyard. In 2018 we committed over £4000 to churchyard management, and the value of volunteer labour is far in excess of that. If you would like to support us, either financially or with your time, please contact the Rector.
Volunteers from the Chiltern Society have erected an information board in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Prestwood. The board describes some of the important fungi that mean our churchyard is designated as an internationally important waxcap grassland. When coming to church or when taking some local exercise please do pass by and have a look at the board. It was designed, commissioned and installed with support from Prestwood Nature, BBOWT, the Chiltern Society Buckinghamshire Council and the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership.
From an ecological perspective, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Prestwood, represents a rare survival of the original acid grass heath that was prevalent on the extensive old Chiltern commons that were almost entirely destroyed when enclosed in the middle of the 19th century. Plants survive here that are no longer known anywhere else in the region. In addition, the combination of no fertilisers, regular mowing and removal of cuttings, has created the ideal conditions for what is known as a "waxcap grassland", where a special suite of fungi that are largely very rare can flourish - mostly waxcaps, but also "clubs" and pinkgills.
We are indebted to Tony Marshall for producing this very thorough and interesting report on the churchyard.
