Welcome to St Mary’s Churchyard Trail
There are 10 locations for you to explore – stops which cover some of the historical and environmental features of our churchyard, with each stop marked by a wooden post containing a QR code for you to scan with your phone.
Though the trail is numbered, please don’t worry about doing the trail in order – you can begin at any point and explore it at your own pace. There is also a map for you to find the various locations.
And if you enjoy the trail, please consider making a one-off donation or monthly donation in support of our management of the churchyard and our efforts to keep St Mary’s Church – Walthamstow’s oldest building – open to the whole community throughout the week.
1. Solly Family Tomb
This is an outstanding Grade II-listed tomb belonging to Isaac Solly, a merchant who died in 1802 at the age of 77.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the family company, Isaac Solly and Sons, were principal contractors supplying hemp and timber to government dockyards. The vault displays a lion’s head and feet, representing the power of God guarding against evil. The monument is made of Coade stone, an innovative artificial stone developed in the late 1700s and sold by the pioneering businesswoman, Eleanor Coade. Many of the larger graves and tombs in this section of St Mary’s Churchyard, including the Solly Family Tomb, date back to the 18th and early 19th centuries and reflect the wealth of some of the people who lived in Walthamstow at that time, which once had a number of large country estates.
2. Rain Garden Beds
These rain garden beds were made in 2022 as part of St Mary’s renovation project, which saw a church extension built as well as the installation of a new roof and a major refurbishment of the interior of the church.
3. Shade-Tolerant Plants
After the renovation of the church in late 2022, this area was little more than a ploughed and compacted field.
However, it has the advantage of shade, which some plants love. After putting down large amounts of our own compost, as well as leaf mould and well-rotted horse manure, we were able to plant a variety of common shade-tolerant plants (Narcissus, Euphorbia wulfenii, Persicaria) as well as some more unusual shade-tolerant plants, including Rheum palmatum atropurpureum, Boehmeria platanifolia and Keringeshoma palmata. Sticks from our linden trees were used as edging, which have the added benefit of creating a habitat for insects. In early 2025, we created a lovely willow arch at one end of the wood-chipped path, inviting visitors to walk through this bit of the churchyard and explore.
4. Bat and Bird Boxes
We value wildlife in the churchyards and manage the space accordingly; this includes providing shelter for bats and birds, and in 2023, volunteers made several bird and bat boxes which were then placed around the churchyards.
5. Frederick Bremer Grave
This grave, which is in a state of poor repair, is in one of the churchyard’s least visited areas.
The northeast corner of the Vinegar Alley section of St Mary’s Churchyard – a woodland we keep in its natural state – marks the final resting place of Frederick Bremer, for whom a Walthamstow school is named. Bremer (1872-1941) was a local gasfitter, plumber, engineer and inventor who is best known for having built the first British four-wheeled, petrol-driven motor car, first constructed in Walthamstow in 1892. He was said to have regularly driven it through local streets, following his friend and assistant, Tom Bates, who would hold a red flag. Bremer didn’t invent his car for profit, but for his own pleasure and curiosity.
As you stand in this bit of the churchyard, it also worth noting that some people claim there were medieval plague pits in this area, which ultimately led to it being given the name, ‘Vinegar Alley’, as vinegar was used as a disinfectant; however, others believe that the name ‘Vinegar Alley’ was simply a corruption of the word, ‘vineyards’, which may have existed in this area at one time. Another theory is that there was once a nearby tanner, which gave off a vinegar smell.
6. Churchyard Pond
This wildlife pond, which was established with the help of Walthamstow Village residents and a grant from the RHS, has quickly become a favourite churchyard attraction.
Our pond is now colonised by newts, damsels and dragonflies which dominate over frogs and mosquitoes. It is a vital water source for birds and mammals that live in and around the churchyard. Topped up by rainwater from the church roof, it is a stable ecosystem. However, there are often surprises, such as the sudden arrival of toad tadpoles in spring 2025. While we encourage you to try and spot pond life, please keep behind the wooden fence.
7. Compost Heap
We compost as much as we can in order to mulch our beds with compost and leaf mould and reduce waste from the site.
We leave some organic material from the churchyard to compost slowly, while other organic material is frequently turned to make hot compost – a labour intensive process. Regularly-churned compost charges microbial action and produces higher temperatures: our record of 73C is warm enough to slow-cook a joint of meat!
8. Crack Willow & Micro Forest
The Crack willow is a dominant feature of the churchyard and one of the many mature trees we are fortunate to have.
It is a great wildlife tree and serves as a particularly good bird and insect habitat. Just opposite the tree, near the benches, is our micro forest, which was planted as part of an episode of ITV’s Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club, which aired in May 2025. Micro forests are designed to allow fast-growing pioneer species to grow up and die before slower-growing species replace them. The trees are deliberately planted young and close together after the principles of Akira Miyawaki. However, wildlife is no respecter of design ideas: shortly after planting, fox cubs attempted to chew and dig their way through it!
9. Churchyard Meadow
Fertile grass meadow is the dominant habitat of the main churchyards.
The tall grasses rise in early May and stand until September. We have experimented with bulb planting, wildflower sowing and various heights of mowing. We are trialling using standing hay stacks as habitat piles. However, for much of the year, dense grassland is an attractive and wildlife-friendly option for a space which has been church land for centuries. For some, this is an overgrown mess, while for others – especially wildlife gardeners – it’s a beautiful sight!
10. Sand and Gravel Bed
This bed was made in 2021 from crushed brick, concrete and sand – unlikely materials which enable us to grow drought-tolerant plants in need of free draining soil.
The bed is also a good habitat for ground-nesting bees and invertebrates, and an ideal environment for self-seeding annuals. Though the bed needs a lot of weeding, it almost never needs watering. Anemone coronaria, Californian poppy, Galectites tomentosa, Evening primrose and forget-me-not are all introductions which seed very vigorously. However, Iris germanica, Cistus creticus, Bupleurum fruticosum and various artemisia are all really stable. Beds like this one require constant editing in order to maintain open ground and balance.
Thank you for visiting St Mary’s Churchyard.
If you enjoyed our Churchyard Trail and would like to give a donation in support of our management of the churchyard and our efforts to keep Walthamstow’s oldest building open to the whole community throughout the week, you can donate via our website here.
We are a registered charity and rely on donations for the majority of our income.
If you would like to give a regular monthly donation to support our work, you can sign up to give via the Parish Giving scheme here, which allows us to automatically reclaim Gift Aid.
Thank you!