The old unattended graveyard had been left unkept for many years with nettles up to your necks, until Church Warden Phillip Bailey had the idea to reintroduce livestock to help. Phillip said, “There were sheep in St. Wolfrida’s on & off forever in the past hundreds of years. The absence of them has been since circa early millennium because the farmer that loaned the last sheep moved away from the area. Money is tight as the church is saving up to rectify the damage done by the Deathwatch Beetle which is eating the internal structure of the church. The original Medieval Church dates back to having a recorded building on site from 1401. St. Wolfrida’s is a rural church in a rural setting therefore we should be as simple and as close to the natural world as the church is humble. St. Wolfrida is not a pristine clean town church with pristine clean parishioners, we are whatever the seasons bring – sun, rain, mud and wind – with animals.”
Wimborne Minster Parish Secretary, Ruth Marshall happens to also be experienced with shepherdess work and so using her contacts, sourced some goats and then through the goats’ owner Alessandra Savoca, we sourced a rare weed-eating sheep breed called North Ronaldsay sheep from Vicky Walters, the breeder. With the project being a success so far since the end of the summer, Ruth and Alessandra have bought and gifted the sheep to Horton to use for as long as they need. All the locals, especially the next door neighbour / verger Jackie Lydford, all keep an eye on the livestock and feed and water them daily. There are 14 members of the “flockwatch” team that help make the sheep project successful along with an extended neighbourhood team of volunteers who manage the rest of the graveyard gardening. For the parts that the sheep cannot reach, the tidy-up days involve locals with strimmers, rakes, and pruners, followed by a hearty lunch laid on by the warden and his wife Anne. A real community spirit in the heart of the Wimborne countryside.
The goats have gone home now because they need winter shelter. The sheep can tough it out. If anyone would like to donate or help fundraise for the churchyard or beetle projects, do get in touch with Ruth at the Wimborne Minster Parish Office: parishoffice@wimborneminster.org.uk.
Article written and photos supplied by Ruth Marshall.
