 Nuthall
St Patrick
Churchyard
The churchyard encircles the church. It is bound on the south side by the
A610 road and to the east and north by the old rectory and its garden. It was
extended to the west in 1860, almost doubling in size to an acre. The Vestry
Records proposed the removal of “cottages standing thereon [land adjoining
the churchyard of] ... 1155 square yards.” A Mr Bradbury was paid
16 pounds for “pulling down old buildings.”
 View
across the churchyard from the west, looking towards the church |
 View
looking north-west from near the entrance
(some C18 stones are visible in the fore- and mid-ground) |
 Display
of crocuses in the north churchyard, planted by Mr G Turton |
There are 161 extant gravestones in the churchyard but the four to five feet
build-up of soil above the road level south of the church, plus the evidence
in the Parish Burial Records (1674 burials between 1663 and 1920), give testimony
of centuries of past interments, most of which were unmarked by gravestones.
In 1885 it was proposed that the “old portion of the Church Yard should
be levelled, and that the graves which have not a headstone should be marked
by cast iron pegs ... and a record kept of the numbers and occupants of
the grave.”
A further Vestry meeting in 1891 thanked W S Taylor for his kindness in
making plans of the churchyard with a register of the graves. Presentment bills
in 1684 and 1718 advised the repair and heightening of the south churchyard
wall, and in the Nottingham Journal in 1884 it was reported that the same old
walling was being repaired in a substantial manner.
In 1954 a faculty was granted for improvements to
the churchyard. At this time thirty-two gravestones were removed from the south
side and stacked along to the northern perimeter fence. The oldest memorials
remaining on the south side are two small headstones, one marked “E.H.
1671”, the other, c1670, inscribed “M.Y. ye 23...” .They
were lifted back to above ground level in 1884. Three further groups of interesting
18th century stones lie just west of the church.
 The
two oldest headstones |
 Close-up
of one of the old gravestones (marked E H) |
 Close-up
of one of the other old stone (marked M Y) |
A yew tree that towers over the south porch is said to be of great age and
is a well-known Nuthall landmark. Especially attractive is the large drift
of purple Nottingham crocuses, planted by the late Mr G Turton, along
the north side of the churchyard. The churchyard is well kept and has many
trees. The west gateway of the churchyard led, in past times, along a private
footpath to the medieval manor house and at a later date to Nuthall Temple,
both were situated due south of the church.
 Plan
of the churchyard |
A new small cemetery, opened in 1935, which now serves the parish, is nearby.
The churchyard although not officially closed is rarely used except for cremations
when ashes are placed within a relative’s grave space.
The churchyard has been surveyed, the existing memorials photographed and
inscriptions recorded, together with a very detailed account of all other things
pertaining to the churchyard.
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