Churchyard Biodiversity and Heritage Project
Introductory email from Frances Hall to Nick M.
I would like to introduce myself as the new Community Engagement Officer for the Churchyard Biodiversity and Heritage Project and I would also like to introduce Sophie Smith (Biodiversity and Natural Heritage Officer) and Alison Wilkes (Project Manager), both copied in. We have been spending some time getting to know the details of the project and are starting to get in touch with the churches that are signed up for Phase 1.
As you know, the project aims to enhance churchyards for wildlife and to highlight and protect their heritage, by working with church congregations and communities and local communities beyond the church too.
Over the next 12 months we will be working with churches and their local communities across the diocese, gathering ideas, organising wildlife surveys, working with schools and running community events. Together we will create a plan to maintain and enhance the churchyards for nature, balancing the needs of local users, site heritage and wildlife to create a bespoke approach for each site.
To help us get started, we would love to come and visit the churchyard at Holy Trinity and meet yourself (and perhaps Revd Heather if they would like to join) as a first introduction for us to the site. As our work progresses, we then plan to meet with and consult the wider church community to plan biodiversity actions, community events and other activities to successfully deliver this phase of the project - hopefully helping us secure funding for the Delivery Phase.
At future meetings and activities, it would be great to meet the wider church community, to plan and carry out the consultations, community activities and the other activities that we need to successfully deliver for this phase of the project, to help us then hopefully secure the funding for the Delivery Phase.
Nick M., Jeff, Chris and Sue are meeting with Frances Hall, Alison Wilkes and Sophie Smith at 1:30pm on 27th January 2026.
Diocesan website information on the project
Useful Documents
Biodiversity Project background
Heritage
The following relate to Hartshill heritage
"What House Will Ye Build Me" by Bob Cretney, a pamphlet written in 1998. Available for reference in Hartshill Library.
"Hearded's Hill; A History of Hartshill and Oldbury in North Warwickshire" by Joan Allen, ISBN 978 -1-3999-8501-7. Available for reference in Hartshill library.
"Who Grew Hartshill?" by Robert G. Cathart. ISBN 9798393291037.
An article on the chuch website on the history of Hartshill Church up to 2010 by Rose Tyler
https://www.holytrinityhartshill.co.uk/history