Wednesday 4^th September 2019


I missed last week’s session at Conistone, but Jennifer will fill you in with another post on what happened as they continued to battle against the vegetation. 


Despite the intermittent showers we were determined to get out today to continue at Skipton Holy Trinity Churchyard. 
A small team arrived and immediately started work on more memorial inscriptions checking, while I continued taking photographs on Row C. As always preparing the ledge stones – clearing away the weeds, and brushing them clean – took much more time than actually taking the photos, but it’s worth the effort for a good photographic record. 


We beat a hasty retreat from a short sharp shower and had a brew and some cake in the church vestry tea room. 

Jean chats to Tony about the Holy Trinity Project

We hadn’t been back out long when Toby Pillatt from the DEBs project, based at the University of York, arrived. He was interested to talk to Jean about the Holy Trinity survey and her other project at the Raikes Road Burial Ground. By looking at how different groups manage and organise their churchyard surveys it should help him develop the resources for other groups. 


About lunch-time we all went into town for a quick meal. We were able to have a very interesting conversation about churchyards, and the problems associated with contracting professionals to carry out churchyard plans, while voluntary groups struggle to finance expensive total stations or manage GPS under various conditions – such as tree canopies.  


The Embsay contingent took Toby to see St Mary’s churchyard at Embsay and despite getting soaked in the rain again we hope he found it interesting and informative.



Jane Lunnon