St Mary's Old Church, Stoke Newington, London

St Mary's Old Church, Stoke Newington

Visited April 2019

On the edge of Clissold Park is St Mary's Old Church, the only remaining Elizabethan church in London. It was built in 1563 to replace the derelict church on the site, and was restored in the 1820s. It's been replaced by a Victorian church (St Mary's New Church) on the opposite side of the street, which was designed by George Gilbert Scott and opened in 1858, although services continued at the Old Church. 

The Old Church is now primarily a community arts centre, and is open to the public to explore one Saturday a month - sadly not the Saturday I visited.

The churchyard is split by a public footpath from Clissold Park to Church Street, and gates lead off this to the churchyard. It was very overgrown when I visited, so not much exploring to be done at this time of year! Graves in the churchyard include some anti-slavery campaigners, including relatives of William Wilberforce, although I didn't manage to find them all, due to the drizzly rain, overcast skies and thick cow parsley undergrowth. Excuses excuses...

Churchyard of St-Peter-in Thanet, Broadstairs, Kent

Churchyard of St-Peter-in Thanet, Broadstairs, Kent 

Visited April 2019

I've visited this churchyard in autumn before, but in spring it is full of wildflowers, with the bluebells in particular in flower on this sunny Easter Saturday. Apart from dog-walkers, there was no-one around while I was there, and it's easily large enough to wander away from them, as they tend to stick to the main paths. 

The oldest part of the churchyard, nearest to the historic church, is the most fascinating for me, but there are also masses of 19th and 20th century graves, including a lot of war graves. Guided walks of the churchyard, either general or focused on war graves, are available in the summer. 

City of London Cemetery, 2019

City of London Cemetery, Epping Forest, London

Visited April 2019

The City of London cemetery is not in, or even near, the Square Mile. It's on the edge of Epping Forest, surrounded by woodland giving it a wonderfully countryside feel, despite its name. It's still an active cemetery and crematorium, so do be aware that there may be services or burials going on, especially during the week. It does, however, mean that the site has a cafe and is well provisioned with toilets!

The site is very large, and you can easily spend a few hours wandering around. There are multiple maps dotted around the site, in particular at the entrances and at the various chapels. As you walk round, you'll find memorials to the great and the good, and plenty of markers for where the burials from city churches were re-interred, having been exhumed due to overcrowding, the destruction of churches, or redevelopment of city burial grounds.

Most of the cemetery is well tended as it's still in use, but some of the older areas are a little more overgrown, and on a sunny spring day there were plenty of bluebells around the gravestones. Just across the road from the cemetery, you're on the edge of Wanstead Flats and plenty of country walks.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, London

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, London

Visited April 2019

I've visited this cemetery a number of times before. As it's managed as a nature reserve, it's got a wonderfully overgrown feel to it in places, but with well-looked after paths. It's clearly being actively cared for - new paths, hedges, and wooden seating made that clear, and there are also trails which can be followed. 

On a spring day I was there mainly for the wildflowers (the bluebells were just coming out - yay!), but I'd also recommend printing out a copy of the heritage trail leaflet (https://www.fothcp.org/heritage-trail-2) - there aren't always some available - and following it around for a good overview of the site.

St Lesmo's Chapel, Glen Tanar

St Lesmo's Chapel, Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire

Visited December 2018

Built in 1871 on the site of an old drover's inn or house, the chapel is a short walk up a track from the Glen Tanar visitor centre. It's dedicated to St Lesmo, a hermit who lived in Glen Tanar around 790. It's got a small graveyard, mainly to the south, which has served as a private burial ground for the lairds of Glen Tanar, and some of their household, since the 1870s.

It's not worth a special visit, but the Glen Tanar estate makes for some lovely walks, whether woodland, river or hill, and the chapel is near the start of most of these routes so do stop in and have a look round. Note that in summer it's frequently in use for weddings at weekends.