A Nature-Lover looks at West Hill Cemetery - TrustNews August 1988
(contributed by the Vice-Chairman, British Butterfly Conservation Society (Hampshire Branch))
To the naturalist, West Hill Cemetery is a sheltered, south-east facing, 6 acre grassland slope, with outcrops of rock in the form of gravestones of diverse origin and with some trees.
Dr. David Knight (Head of Biology, King Alfred's College), botanist Sally Lister and I have found over 70 species of wild flower in the cemetery, including such beauties as cowslip, primrose and dark mullein. Chemical sprays have drastically subdued them all (except ground elder!) and warned off butterflies.
To reform the dull tangle into the flower-rich grassland it ought to be, the chemical spraying must stop and a conservation-sensitive method of mowing must be introduced. It may also be necessary to plant some wild flowers and to take steps to reduce the fertility of the soil. Too rich a soil allows the grass to choke the flowers.
Butterflies will come back with the flowers. Many more butter flies will come if the caterpillar food-plants are introduced and encouraged. Given appropriate conservation measures, these species can be expected:-
| Species | Caterpillar food-plant |
| *Small Heath | Various Grasses |
| *Wall Brown | Various Grasses |
| *Speckled Wood | Various Grasses |
| *Meadow Brown | Various Grasses |
| *Gatekeeper | Various Grasses |
| Small Tortoiseshell Peacock | Nettle |
| Red Admiral | Nettle |
| Comma | Nettle and elm |
| Painted Lady | Thistle |
| *Holly Blue | Holly and ivy |
| *Common Blue | Bird’s-foot trefoil And wild clovers |
| *Small Copper | Sorrels |
| *White-letter Hairstreak | Wych elm |
| Large White | Various crucifers |
| Small White | Various crucifers |
| Green-veined White | Various crucifers |
| *Orange-tip | Various crucifers |
| Brimstone | Buckthorn |
| *Large Skipper | Various Grasses |
| *Small Skipper | Various Grasses |
(* only if caterpillar food-plant is present in suitable condition)
Bear in mind:-
- Adult butter flies accept a wide range of flowers as a nectar source.
- Caterpillars are extremely fussy as to the type and condition of their food-plant.
- Butter flies do not demand large areas: one Wych Elm can support a colony of White-letter Hairstreaks: a small patch of nettles can forage hundreds of Red Admirals: a small suburban garden can attract many butterflies.
- Some species are rovers and range hundreds of miles: others live in static colonies.
The type and condition of the grass is important. Mowing should aim for a rotating mosaic of high, medium and low grass. Main paths can be kept closely mown. Food-plants and nectar-rich clumps of flowers should be spared by the mower. Cuttings should be composted or burned.
Small patches of bramble, nettle and thistle should be allowed in appropriate places. Ivy, which houses the hibernating Brimstone, feeds the townee Holly Blue and provides nectar for avid Red Admirals, should be permitted and allowed to flower. The planting scheme should include disease resistant Wych Elm, Buckthorn and Holly. All trees, shrubs and plants should be the old English kind and not a modern variety. The Council should commission a consulting entomologist to produce an initial scheme and management plan.
The increase in berries, seeds and insects will enhance bird-life.
These points on lichens:
- Gravestones can support many different kinds of lichen. The kind is determined by the age, type, texture and aspect of the stone; and the degree of carving, which can create a micro-habitat.
- Lichen does no harm and gives memorials a pleasing venerable appearance.
- If it is necessary to remove lichen, e.g. to read an inscription, cover the stone with sacking for a month or two and the lichen, deprived of light, will die away underneath. Never remove lichen by mechanical or chemical means.
- Lichens are extremely sensitive to pollution: for example, they will not grow in the water run-off from lead lettering.
The whole improvement process should be gradual and guided by observation, trial and error. Council workmen should receive a few hours' conservation training, including growing technique and plant identification.
I suggest the main functions of the Friends of West Hill Cemetery should be to advise, encourage, admonish and be consulted. Possibly, a small part of the cemetery could be set aside for total management by the Friends, thus providing competition between the amateurs and the professionals. But Council workmen should, I suggest, carry out the main part of the physical management, for which I estimate the labour requirement at under half a man/year - and nothing to spend on chemicals.
Natural history is only one of the many strands of interest in a graveyard. The strands, far from conflicting, pull together and, combined, make God's acre such a reflective and satisfying oasis.
Although some of my remarks may raise an eye-brow in the more old-fashioned type of park attendant, I am merely preaching the new orthodoxy, which is supported by research and an extensive literature and is widely accepted by graveyard and other greenspace authorities.
For many years, butterflies have been declining, not only at places like West Hill Cemetery, but generally throughout Britain. The British Butterfly Conservation Society exists to reverse this decline. If you want to know more about us, do please drop me a line or 'phone me.
Note: The Trust is keen to see the establishment of a "Friends" organisation and has offered meeting facilities and support. Anyone interested in joining such a group should contact either George Yorke at the address given or Alan Weeks, 155 Stanmore Lane, Winchester (Win. 68763).