One of Oxford’s best-kept secrets has been recognised with an Oxford Preservation Trust Award. The Landscape and Public Realm plaque was presented to the Friends of Holywell Cemetery who have breathed new life into the peaceful spot.
The five-acre site is close to the city centre, low walls and a gate that is never locked.
Bill Bannister-Parker, part of the team which maintains the cemetery, said: “The cemetery offers a tranquil, green space that can be an oasis for quiet reflection. As well as descendants of people buried in the cemetery, visitors often include students, workers and shoppers.
“The size and thick canopy of the HWC site, and the near-total absence of abutting buildings, make it a haven of tranquillity and recollection in a city where space and stillness are increasingly at a premium.”
By 2021, despite the best efforts of communities before them, the cemetery had become overgrown. The Friends of Holywell Cemetery worked together to preserve the site, balancing the biodiversity needs of the wildlife there.
Bill continues: “For instance, rather than wholesale strimming, the team prefers to clear only the main pathways and historically significant graves, leaving groundcover for insects and small mammals. Also, if a gravestone or its inscription is too fragile or corroded, its ivy shroud will be left in place – to benefit insects and the birds who feed on them.”
Thanks to their efforts the cemetery is a significant wildlife refuge with many birds, butterflies and bees, as well as small mammals. In the last Church of England ‘Count on Nature’ survey, volunteers identified nearly 100 distinct species of flora, fauna and insects in the cemetery. Installation of bird houses and owl boxes across the site in 2023 aims to attract even more wildlife.
The cemetery is home to many significant memorials which contain a wealth of hidden stories. University dons predominate (160 at the last count, including 32 Heads of Houses), but shopkeepers and tradespeople abound, with names still remembered today: Salter the boatbuilder, Gillman the bootmaker, Mallam the auctioneer. A famous author here, a fallen Great War soldier there – there is much to discover.
The cemetery is a public space, maintained Oxford City Council. The Friends of Holywell Cemetery, maintains public liability insurance and coordinates gardening, historical preservation and nature conservation work by volunteers. Trustees of the Friends include clergy and parishioners from The University Church and The Church of St Michael at the Northgate, the churches that until 2023 had legal responsibility for the cemetery.
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