The Churchyard
The churchyard contains many fine tombs which had been broken into by vandals or pushed over by cattle. The table tombs have now been repaired and pieced together, while as many as possible of the headstones have been raised.
In the course of this work it became obvious that many of these were buried in the earth as investigation shows that the level of the churchyard had risen from between 18 inches to 4 feet since the stones dates 1693 were first erected. Many of these, and some later, stones were buried and have now been raised to the new level of the ground with the result that many interesting inscriptions unknown to the present generation have been brought to light.
This may be the wrong thing to do from an archaeological point of view, but it was felt that the churchyard should be restored to its original appearance showing these previously hidden stones, especially as in so many cases churchyards are now being cleared to make it easier to cut the grass. In this case at least the visitor will be able to see the typical English churchyard as it was in the past.
All this work, as well as the repairs to the church, was carried out by the builder, Mr Eastwood, of Leamington Spa, and his small group of craftsmen, under the supervision of the architect, Mr L. F. Cave.
Gravestones
Photographs taken of gravestones in the churchyard of St Peters:
In Memory of Frederick William, son of Will & Elizabeth Holmes Croft
