Saltford Parish Council is responsible for maintenance at St Mary’s (closed) churchyard at St Mary’s Church, Saltford. This includes the historic walls at St Mary’s Churchyard, and the costs of any repairs or maintenance needed.
St Mary’s Church dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period and has been the focus of community gatherings for over 1000 years. More information can be found on SPC’s History of Saltford page under ‘Anglo-Saxon and Norman Saltford’. St Mary’s Church has a ‘closed churchyard’, meaning it has a churchyard belonging to a parish church of the Church of England which has been formally closed by an Order in Council made by the Privy Council.
In spring 2026, works to rebuild and maintain the south wall will take place, as organised by Saltford Parish Council and following permission from the Church.
The proposed start date is Monday 20 April (weather pending).
This follows the works last year (March 2025) to repair the failure of a short section of the south wall. Please find a photo of this below, taken prior to repairs being carried out.
Works will take place all along this section of the south wall (bar the recently repaired area) e.g. from the public footpath to the corner of the churchyard.
Saltford Parish Council is aware of the sensitive nature and importance of the site, and all works will take place with respect it being a churchyard location.
Please be aware that St Mary’s Church will either contact owners or carefully relocate any private property – including grave markers – along the south wall ahead of the works on specific sections, so that the stonemason has clear access. This will be done in advance of works on each section of south wall undergoing maintenance.
Grave markers and personal memorial items will then be relocated back in their original locations by the Church. The Parish Council has engaged with St Mary’s Church with regards to this and thanks them for their support with regards to facilitating the works.
Those who own personal items (flowers, vases etc) located along the south wall may wish to temporarily remove them ahead of the works, and replace them after – however grave markers are requested to be kept in place and will be moved by the Church.
Signs have been put up in the churchyard by the south wall to advise members of the public about the upcoming works.
(The photo above shows the first version of the sign displayed, these were subsequently updated with further information, see image below and photo of updated sign at churchyard at end of page.)
Saltford Parish Council uses the precept to pay for the maintenance requirements of St Mary’s Churchyard (the majority of SPC’s income is raised through the precept, which is paid by all residents as detailed in their Council Tax bill from B&NES Council, the billing authority for Saltford).
To note, monuments – such as headstones, graves etc – are privately owned and therefore any maintenance or repairs required are not the responsibility of Saltford Parish Council.
If you have any queries about the works, please contact Saltford Parish Council using details on our ‘contact us‘ page. Please note that the clerk works part-time and there is no cover clerk during periods of annual leave, so sometimes messages can take longer to respond to than usual. Please view out-of-office message for who to contact in the Clerk’s absence.
St Mary’s Church / the Church of England owns the churchyard where maintenance works are taking place. To contact the office at St Mary’s Church, Saltford, please view their website at https://www.scnbenefice.org.uk/stmix.html
Saltford Parish Council thanks those at St Mary’s Church for their support with regards to the wall works.
(Article last updated 30 March 2026)
Image of the length of south wall due for maintenance works from 20 April, including updated sign about the pending works as displayed from 26 March 2026