St Mary’s Churchyard – Planned wall maintenance works starting late April 2026

Update: 12 & 13 May 2026

The works along a section of the south wall at St Mary’s Churchyard have now been completed. Saltford Parish Council is grateful to those who live nearby and those who visit the churchyard for their understanding whilst these required works took place.

Saltford Parish Council would also like to thank members of St Mary’s Church for their support before and during the works, particularly regarding the temporary relocation of personal memorial items.

We have received positive responses from members of the public about the end result, and the professionalism of the stonemason throughout when working at this sensitive location. Thanks to residents for sharing their views with the Parish Council.

The photos below were taken during and immediately after the recent works in late April and early May.

Next steps: The recent south wall works are part of a series of planned maintenance works that the Parish Council is looking to address at St Mary’s Churchyard. Please keep an eye on our agendas for upcoming items about future works including spend to be resolved.

SPC has allocated funds from the precept to meet its legal responsibilities with regards to maintenance works at the churchyard, please view 2026/27 ‘Precept‘ information on our ‘Finance’ page.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and speak on items to be resolved by SPC. Information on agendas and SPC’s Public Engagement Guidelines can be found on our ‘Meetings – Agendas and Minutes‘ page. (Please note: those providing quotes are not able to address the council or be present in the room for wall maintenance items).

The following photos were taken on 13 May, after the grave markers and personal memorial items were relocated by the repaired wall. Saltford Parish Council again thanks those at St Mary’s Church for their support with this aspect of the maintenance work, and the understanding of those who have family memorials at this area of the churchyard.

Original article mid-March 2026, updated 30 March:

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 a section of 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). Spend for these churchyard repairs were resolved at SPC’s September 2025 meeting, following a survey of the walls earlier in the year (which had taken place after the partial wall collapse in January 2025).

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 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

View of the south wall taken May 2025. As can be seen, vegetation in the wall is one of the matters requiring maintenance.

The image above, also taken May 2025, shows the poor condition of the wall.