St Mary's Churchyard, Walthamstow, London

St Mary's Churchyard, Walthamstow, London

Visited November 2016

The church of St Mary stands in the pretty conservation area of Walthamstow village in east London, and there has been a church on the site since the 12th century. Some parts of the current building date to the 15th century although, like most churches, there was a lot of restoration and rebuilding in the Victorian period and 20th century.

The churchyard is split by paths running to the main entrance of the church, splitting it into 4 sections. Each of these areas is behind railings, but two of the less overgrown parts have gates letting the more curious enter to see the stones; you have to peer over the railings to see the others. As you'd expect, most of them date from the 19th century, but there are some more modern Commonwealth War Graves. Many of the markers are simple stones, but there are some table tombs and the rather splendid lion themed Solly tomb, which stands on 4 large paws, and rather reminds me of Terry Pratchett's luggage...