The whole of St Mary’s Churchyard (apart from the Garden of Remembrance) is now closed, following an order by His Majesty’s Privy Council in December 2025. This decision has been made because there is no more room for burials.
The closure means that it is no longer possible to be buried here. There are two exceptions to this: 1) where a reservation has been made prior to closure (we only know of one of those) 2) in the “plot” of a family member where there is room.
Closure also means that maintenance of the parts of the churchyard that were previously the responsibility of the PCC now falls to a local authority. This will happen from 1st April 2026
St Mary’s Church has an enormous churchyard. It falls into two main areas
The Churchyard closed in 1858 – The area immediately around the church. Ross Town Council maintains this area and does a splendid job maintaining it with a dedicated budget and a professionally run team of contractors.
The remainder of the Churchyard closed in December 2025 – The area beyond the track running from the main churchyard gate (from Old Maids Walk / Church Street) has been maintained by St Mary’s Church with the help of a number of groups. These area are now maintained by Herefordshire Council.
We have been working hard on a management plan for this area. You can download that here or read on for the main points.
- Churchyard Angels (CA) – volunteers – Now disbanded following closure in 2025
- The Probation Service (PS) – They attend regularly through the year. They maintain the rest of the space including the Garden of Remembrance, as well as maintenance of trees and paths during the winter months.
- Garden of Remembrance Volunteer Group (gardening / weeding)
- Paid help – discontinued
The work is divided as follows
As part of our Eco Church status (we have a silver award, hoping for gold), areas of the churchyard are covered by a “no-mow” policy during some spring and summer months. This is under review and more detail will follow very soon – watch this space.
CLEARING THE WAY TO GRAVES
We want everyone to be able to visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones, and we will endeavour to do our best to make sure this is possible. If, however you feel this is difficult, they are very willing to make sure the way is clear. Please use the plan below to identify the approximate location and let them know via the form below. They will clear the way as soon as they can. (Please note, we cannot take responsibility for graves themselves.)
Churchyard Regulations (Diocese of Hereford)
We have highlighted the points that apply to good maintenance of churchyards. Over the years these rules have not been adhered to, this is one of the things that makes maintenance difficult, time consuming and expensive.
Frequently Asked Questions
We gathered the answers to some common questions below.
If you can’t find your question below feel free to contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
How does St Mary’s fund churchyard maintenance?
From April 2026 this responsibility has passed to Herefordshire Council. Ross Town Council manages the areas closest to the church.
Why is there so much long grass?
We are an Eco Church and some areas of the churchyard are deliberately left like this to encourage diversity. There are signs that explain that in the churchyard, beautifully made by EnviroAbilty. The set-aside areas of the churchyard are currently under review. We are also balancing the needs of a huge and difficult to maintain churchyard with available finance and volunteers. You can help us with both of those (see below).
How can I help?
By volunteering to maintain areas around grave spaces that are of interest to you.
The Ross Parishes: Ross-on-Wye, Walford & Brampton Abbotts 