A WORRIED reverend has pleaded with drivers to stop parking on top of graves, which include babies’ tombs.
After more than two years of “unacceptable” parking on the churchyard of High Wycombe's landmark All Saints Parish Church, Reverend Gareth Morley is now pleading with drivers to stop.
The graves, many of them hidden in plain sight under grass, benches and pavements used daily by Wycombe residents, house the remains of local infants, children and adults dating as far back as 11th century when the church was built.
READ MORE: Hollywood star Tom Hardy makes surprise appearance in Bucks
Anywhere you step in the green churchyard is guaranteed to have a grave, Revd Morley said.
He said: “There’s a lot of history around the church.
“Although public enjoys access to the churchyard, it’s not a park, but a burial ground.
“Not many people know that 150 of them are children.”
More than 1,000 people are known to be buried around the church, including some notable Wycombe residents, 67 infants and 147 children.
The number of graves is likely to be “even more than this,” Revd Morley pointed out.
Despite its heritage, the church has been powerless to stop parking on graves.
When the church people have tried to speak with drivers, they received abuse, he said.
Revd Morley said: “We would ask people to be courteous and respectful of the space which is a holy and sacred space that has had burials for over 800 years.
“Parking on graves, many of which because of their age are now unmarked, is unacceptable and disrespectful.”
Currently, the churchyard is accessible through a gate on Church Street with signage prohibiting parking. Only a handful of drivers from the church with a permit on their window are allowed to drive through the gate and down the paved drive to the small private car park on the side of the church.
The entrance used to have a bollard, but it was repeatedly damaged and had to be replaced five times, Revd Morley said.
READ MORE: Chesham Pakistan flood support raises crisis aid
Drivers have damaged gravestones as cars’ wheels were driven across gravestones. On one occasion, all four wheels of a van were on four individual gravestones, Revd Morley said.
Buckinghamshire Council has been “extremely helpful,” Revd Morley thanked, and the church is considering a gate to restrict vehicle access.
He added: “Although the churchyard would have opened to burials at the same time as the church in the 11th Century and then closed it was closed in 1854 with the Burials Act.
“Many burials are lost, unknown, et cetera due to record keeping from that far back into the past.
“Some of the earliest graves we know of are towards the south of the church although their exact position is unknown.”
Archaeologists studying the area found someone buried behind Costa Coffee, who died in 1685 – the earliest known burial.
Graves include the road surveyor George Brown, coachmaker Henry Lane, midwife Jane Britten, and Pans Mill master miller Daniel Pearce.
Most common names in the churchyard are Gomme, Clark, Treacher, Ball, Barton and Veary.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article