The Countryside Agency has awarded the God's Acre Group at Letton Church a Local Heritage Grant to produce a management plan that will help conserve and enhance the churchyard of St John the Baptist church, its heritage and its long term care. The project will raise public awareness and understanding of the churchyard through various participation activities including surveys, workshops, exhibitions and events.

Progress to Date:

• The God's Acre project is now successfully completed. The final paper work has been sent off, but work will continue to follow the management plan with the occasional meeting to update if necessary. The project has been a very successful scheme that has encouraged extensive community involvement in the preservation and long-term care of the churchyard. The participation activities including workshops, surveys, events, exhibitions, together with the booklets and website, have forged a deepening interest in the heritage of the churchyard and its features - an interest which extends far and wide and is a fitting tribute to the organisers of the project, the volunteers and the support of the LHI who have made the project possible.
  
  
• The celebratory supper was held November 2005 and was a very successful and enjoyable evening. Click here for photos.
  
  
• Construction of the bench (click to view a photo) is complete and the bench is now installed.
  
  
• Education/information panels and cards have been designed, printed and mounted.
  
  
• Information booklets have been printed for botany and archaeology and are now available to visitors in the church.
  
  
• The Rowan tree has been planted.
  
  
• The fingerpost (click to view a photo) for the church has been finished and is now erected.
  
  
• Four workshops in total have been held in the church during the summer of 2004: one on botony, one on mammals and two on art in the churchyard. Workshops on the lichen and fungi surveys are in the planning stage. The archaeology report was delivered in the church in September 2004.
  
  
• Restoration of the masonry and stoneworks in the churchyard has been completed. Gravestones with exaggerated inclines have been straightened and box tombs have been repaired and made safe. Click here for photos of the completed restoration works.
  
  
• A notice board (click to view a photo) has been erected at the entrance gate to the churchyard.
  
  
• Management plan for the churchyard is expected to be finalised November 2004.
  
  

Take Part
If you would like to take part, or would like to support this project, please email godsacre@lettonvillage.com for more details.