Volunteers transform overgrown graveyard moving resident to tears

While walking around the village during lockdown, Tom Gosling (33), of Wensfield Road, Sawtry was taken aback by All Saints church’s graveyard where weeds stood higher than some graves.

Despite not having any family members or loved ones in the graveyard or a being churchgoer, it ‘really upset’ Tom to see it like that.

He made contact with Rev Becky Dyball, the pair set out on a mission to gain volunteers to transform the graveyard and restore it to its former glory.

Marketing manager, Tom said: “The initial idea was to maintain the front which was overgrown.

“The reception I got from the community has been amazing, it turned out 25 people came to help out. The key thing to come from this is everyone in the village has come together. Most people had said they saw the graveyard and felt exactly the same and didn’t know how to help!”

Getting to work the community helped to cut the grass and used strimmers and other tools for the larger work, working for hours in the beaming sunshine and high temperatures. Local businesses and pubs also lent a hand by donating tools and with others providing free food and drinks for volunteers after their hard day’s work.

Tom estimates around half of the work has been done but there is still plenty to do. Following the surge of volunteers, adhering to social distancing the group have now another three sessions planned on September 12-13 for the rest of the work.

Having already noticed the ‘huge improvement’, many members of the community and local residents have been ‘astounded’ by the difference, with one resident claiming it ‘brought tears to her eyes to see the transformation’.

Not content with just clearing weeds, the group have plans to install ant boxes, bat boxes and to include an audio bench explaining the village’s history.

Tom said: “We want to install an audio bench to explain more about the village’s history and also some stories from the graveyard.

“The graveyard has graves from the 1500s up to as recently as the 1980s.

“There’s so much interesting history here and villager Julie Morgan puts her life and soul into collecting the history of Sawtry.

“It’s all extremely interesting but hard to get it out there, so we thought the audio bench would be a great way of doing that.”

Hoping to utilise the church’s presence in the community as a ‘hub’ where everyone can spend time and more than just a place of worship, the volunteers are hoping more people will come forward to help out or donate funds

To help volunteer sign up here

Or to donate go to:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/allsaintsgraveyard