Wellow
St Swithin

Churchyard

The churchyard is square, with the church in the centre. The main entrance is in the north-west corner, which leads directly to the beer garden of the Red Lion pub. A paved path runs to the north of the church through to a second, smaller gate in the north-east corner, which gives onto a road. Across this road to the east of the church is a second burial ground, which has been used for most burials in the parish since the early twentieth-century.

The main churchyard is now rarely used for burials, and is on the whole thinly populated with gravestones. The reason for this is that the ground has a tendency to become waterlogged. Only people with a particularly close connection to the church are now buried in the churchyard. All other burials take place in the second burial ground, situated on slightly higher ground across the road to the east of the church, which is much more densely populated.

Most of the gravestones in the churchyard are 19th century, with some 18th century graves to the south side. The most recent graves (late 20th century) are located right in the south-west corner of the churchyard, set at a distance from the other graves.

There are more graves to the east of the church than in the rest of the churchyard. Most of these are 19th century but some are older, and there are some tombs lying close to the church.

Propped against the east wall of the chancel is the separately listed altar tomb of 1651 to Alice Brailsford. This was formerly situated inside the church but removed during one of the renovations. The marginal inscription reads:

Hic jacet Alice Uxor Guli Braylesford de Willey Gen... ethaec...
Lawr Stirrop de Lincolne M...D...C...

 

Also separately listed, Grade II, and lying south of the chancel, is a triple chest tomb of 1803, and a single chest tomb of 1819. The triple tomb has moulded corners with a central blank panel on north and south sides; the east end has 3 smaller blank panels. It is to Francis Vessey. The single tomb has reeded corners and hipped top, and an inscribed panel on each long side; this is to John Vessey. Both tombs are enclosed by a chamfered ashlar kerb.

There is a bench on the path (on the south side between the path and the church) which was donated by Canon T.W. Swift (incumbent 1980-1983) and his wife.