Mansfield
St Peter and St Paul

Churchyard

The churchyard covers an area of 0.4 ha. It has been cleared of many of the grave markers although some chest tombs remain.

Churchyard wall and main
gate from the north-west		 The churchyard on the
north side of the church

The boundary on the north and west sides is marked by a coursed squared stone wall with moulded ashlar coping. It is topped with iron railings that were reinstated in 2004. The main gate is on the north-west side and there is a gate at the north-eastern corner (on Bridge Street) and two smaller gates in the west wall. The wall and gates are listed. A combination of buildings, stone walls and the River Maun run along the east side of the churchyard; the southern boundary is formed by the inner ring-road.

The church is roughly central with burials on the north, east and south.

Reused grave markers Wall inscription

A section of the churchyard was acquired by Mansfield Corporation for widening Church Street in the early 1900s. Human remains were removed to the town cemetery, grave markers pulled up and a new set of gates erected. A stone block in the churchyard wall reads 'SET BACK 1906'.

The St Peter's Church Parish Centre occupies a site within the churchyard a short distance south of the church. It was originally built as the Grammar School in 1551 and rebuilt in 1714-19.

Ordnance Survey maps show that prior to the early 1950s the churchyard was far larger and extended over an area of 1 ha. By December 1950 the churchyard had been closed by an Order in Council and St Peter's Parochial Church Council suggested to Mansfield Town Council that it should be laid out as a garden of rest. The work of clearing the southern section of the churchyard was carried out in 1953 and the 'Festival Gardens' survived until the early 1970s when the inner ring-road was constructed across the area.