Date: Thurs 15 October
Start: Iping Common
Start Time: 10.00
Distance: 4 miles
Terrain: Flat
Sign up through Eventbrite HERE
Churchyards and their lichen-covered headstones can seem like quiet, forgotten corners of our villages. But Peter Ross, author of Tomb with a View (a fabulous read, by the way!), writes that “Graves are shelves full of stories” and that “if the imagination is a muscle, graveyards are a gym”.
Look a little closer and those shelves reveal far more than names and dates. Headstones, monuments and even the way people are buried can tell us surprisingly much about a community – from occupations and family relationships to wealth, faith, tragedy and changing attitudes towards death. As Annabel Streets puts it, cemeteries can act as “windows into the culture and history of a place”.
Join local historian and mortuary practices expert Dr Dawn Cansfield and me to explore two churchyards in the Rother Valley and discover some of the stories they hold.
Dawn helped organise a detailed survey of Stedham Churchyard, uncovering the histories of people who were once part of the village community, and is now undertaking similar work at nearby Iping. Together, we’ll look beyond the names and dates to uncover the human stories behind the stones – and consider what they reveal about the people who lived, worked and died in these villages.
Far from being places to avoid churchyards are fascinating places to explore: beautiful, peaceful archives of lives lived before ours.
His story. Her story. Their story.
Well-behaved dogs on leads welcome.
ABOUT DAWN
Dawn’s PhD from the University of Winchester was in the mortuary practices of the early Neolithic period (c.4000-3300 BC) in southern England. She has also researched and written about Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon burials in the region, the lives of past female archaeologists, and the local history of the Midhurst area, where she grew up.
RURAL STRIDES
Rural Strides is passionate about the rich history and cultural landscape of the Western Weald. Through our engaging guided walks, we bring the land to life. We interpret its stories, uncover its heritage, and reveal the character that makes this corner of the South Downs so special. Along the way, we introduce you to inspiring local businesses, each rooted in the community and landscape we share.
Our aim is simple: to create authentic, memorable experiences that connect you with the place and its people. By the end of a Rural Strides walk, you won’t just have explored the Western Weald, you’ll feel like a local.
