As the churchyard has not had a new burial for some 100 years, many graves are clearly untended, which is why we have an Adopt-a-Grave scheme where people take on and look after a grave or graves - with over 100 graves now adopted, and the results are obvious.

The “six foot” of each grave where regular care has begun looks tidied of weeds and overgrowth, and small flowering plants have been used to add some colour and life in respect to those whose life is remembered.

It has been inspiring to have graves tended by descendants of the deceased, or because the name, date of death or age of the person recorded strikes a chord with individual adopters. There are also a group of graves of children, now being cared for by the local Brownies.

Interest in the family history of those buried in the adopted graves has grown, and members of the church recording group have been helping uncover the facts behind the names. Images of some of the tidied graves are below.

 

There are still many graves awaiting adoption, please get involved, whether as an individual or a community-minded group. This would involve every few months a bit of tidying, removing weeds, saplings and the like, perhaps adding some plants, and making the grave look and feel cared for.

There are many reasons for adopting a grave, for example:

  • It is a grave of a relative or one of your ancestors
  • It commemorates a child
  • It is the burial place of a notable or interesting resident of Teddington
  • It is an outstanding but neglected memorial
  • It will help to maintain the churchyard’s biodiversity in the face of climate change

If you are interested please contact Alexandra Ruffer: alex@teddingtonparish.org