Carrington St John

Churchyard

Spring flowers in the churchyard

The churchyard, surrounded on three sides by stone walls surmounted by iron railings, is L-shaped with the church itself standing in the north east corner. Its eastern boundary is formed by Mansfield Road, with Church Drive to the south, Loscoe Road to the west and a children’s playground (formerly Carrington Lido) to the north. The original site conveyed by Ichabod Wright for the church and yard was 2454 square yards. In 1859 the churchyard was extended to the west by an additional 4840 square yards. The small part between the church and Church Drive is crowded but the main area now has tasteful groups of memorial stones moved together from other parts of the churchyard. They are a mixture of slate, stone and marble.

There are a few interesting grave stones. Near the Church Drive gate lies Thomas Sewell, one of the original lace factory owners of Carrington. Canon Charles Dudley Hart, the Priest from 1917-1947, is the only incumbent buried here. Samuel Gent, aged 19, was accidentally drowned at the Public Baths, Sneinton, on 22nd July 1877, and Second Lieutenant William Howett, one of the first members of the RAF, was killed in a flying accident on 17th December 1918. Eleven War Commission Graves were erected for men who served in the First World War.

Ichabod Wright, died 14th November 1862, and his wife Harriet, died 21st June 1843, were buried in the family vault, the site of which is now uncertain. Burials in the churchyard ceased many years ago, but the burial register for the period from 9th February 1927 to 11th January 1972 is still kept in the vestry.