Churchyard

Churchyard
The churchyard of Vepriai, Lithuania

A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird.

In England, the fact that in an open field village there were very few fenced areas meant that the yew trees needed for longbows were commonly grown in the churchyard since the foliage is poisonous to cattle.

Churchyards can be host to unique and ancient habitats because they may remain significantly unchanged for hundreds of years.[1]

A churchyard should not be confused with a graveyard or a cemetery. While churchyards were historically often used as graveyards, they can also be any patch of land on church grounds, even without a place of burial.

Contents

Use of churchyards as a place of burial

Russian Orthodox Church and Churchyard in Alaska

Historically the most common use of churchyards was as a consecrated burial ground known as a graveyard. Graveyards were usually established at the same time as the building of the relevant place of worship (which can date back to the 6th to 14th centuries) and were often used by those families who could not afford to be buried inside or beneath the place of worship itself. Most headstones and other memorials are of the 17th century at the earliest, as ground would often be reused for further burials and only some families could afford any memorials.

The use of churchyards as burial grounds for the deceased was discontinued all over Europe in various stages between the 18th to 19th centuries due to lack of space for new headstones. In many European states, burial in churchyards was outlawed altogether either by royal decrees or government legislation for public hygiene reasons and portions of churchyards were taken in order for roads to be built or expanded. The loss of part (or all) of the churchyard, often led also to the removal and permanent loss of centuries old graves and headstones. In some cases the human remains were exhumed and the gravestones transferred. In other cases, all headstones have been removed, to create a park-like environment, or simply to facilitate the seasonal cutting and removal of grass or weeds.

A very small number of churchyards across the world are still used as graveyards today.[citation needed]

Bibliography

  • Greenoak, Francesca (1985) God's Acre: the flowers and animals of the parish churchyard. London: Orbis

See also

References

  1. ^ How natural is a nature reserve? An ideological study of British nature conservation landscapes, Cooper NS, Biodiversity and Conservation, 9, 2000, 1131-1152



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  • Churchyard — Church yard , n. The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery. [1913 Webster] Like graves in the holy churchyard. Shak. Syn: Burial place; burying ground; graveyard; necropolis; cemetery; God s acre. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Churchyard — (spr. Tschörtschjahrd), Thomas, geb. in Shrewsbury im 16. Jahrh., Anfangs Hausbeamter des Lord Surry; wurde dann Soldat, gefangen u. von 2 mitleidigen Frauen losgekauft; er st. arm 1570. Er schr.: Gedichte, gesammelt als Chip. Lond. 1775 …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • churchyard — (n.) early 12c., from CHURCH (Cf. church) + YARD (Cf. yard) (n.1) …   Etymology dictionary

  • churchyard — ► NOUN ▪ an enclosed area surrounding a church, especially as used for burials …   English terms dictionary

  • churchyard — [chʉrch′yärd΄] n. the yard or ground adjoining a church, often used as a place of burial …   English World dictionary

  • churchyard — UK [ˈtʃɜː(r)tʃˌjɑː(r)d] / US [ˈtʃɜrtʃˌjɑrd] noun [countable] Word forms churchyard : singular churchyard plural churchyards the area of land around a church where dead people are buried …   English dictionary

  • Churchyard —    See St. Botolph Billingsgate, Churchyard …   Dictionary of London

  • Churchyard — Recorded in many forms including Church, Churcher, Churchers, Churches, Churchouse, Churchus, Churchyard, and Churchman, this is an English surname. It derives from the Old English pre 7th Century cyrice meaning church , (ultimately from the… …   Surnames reference

  • churchyard — [[t]tʃɜ͟ː(r)tʃjɑː(r)d[/t]] churchyards N COUNT A churchyard is an area of land around a church where dead people are buried …   English dictionary

  • churchyard — see a green Yule makes a fat churchyard …   Proverbs new dictionary

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