 Arnold
St Mary
Churchyard
Headstones in the churchyard mainly date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Four of the older ones (including one from the 17th century) have now been moved inside the church for preservation. Most of the others have been relocated around the sides of the churchyard or elsewhere.
The Churchyard was enlarged about 1851. It is reported that at the Consecration a young man named John Toplis was present, and when the ceremony was over he exclaimed, "I wonder what poor devil will be buried there first." Soon after reaching home he was seized with small-pox, and died in three days, his own interment thus giving a very prompt and unexpected reply to the question.
When the church was underpinned by the National Coal Board in 1958, and the churchyard was dug out, a large number of gravestones were moved to the perimeter of the site. The area was levelled and grassed, but four of the older gravestones have been moved inside the church for their protection
A public cemetery was opened at Redhill in 1879.
| 
