Churches, parish councils and community grounds in Smallfield

Churchyard grass cutting in Smallfield and Burstow

Careful mowing for Burstow’s old churchyard and the parish’s greens, verges and community spaces.

The parish church isn’t in Smallfield itself. St Bartholomew’s stands on Church Road in Burstow, a little way south, and it’s Grade I listed. The 1911 county history described its churchyard as ringed by tall trees, and the area round it has been a conservation area since 1990. Churchyard grass cutting in Smallfield and Burstow calls for slow, careful work round old stones.

We work for churches, parish councils and community groups, to an existing specification or one we write together. Wildflower patches can stay long until a single late-summer cut. Visits are fitted around services, weddings and funerals, and we check with the churchwarden or parish clerk before each one.

Churchyard grass cutting under tall trees

Churchyard maintenance under a ring of big trees has its own habits. Grass under the canopy is thin and shaded, so we cut it higher and less often than the open ground. Leaves land on paths and graves in autumn and need clearing before they get slippery. Old headstones are rarely level and can be fragile, so we strim round them by hand rather than risk a mower catching an edge. The trees themselves we leave alone. Work to trees in a conservation area needs notice to the council, and it’s a job for an arborist.

Parish green spaces and council grass cutting

Burstow’s draft neighbourhood plan proposes ten Local Green Spaces, among them the QE2 Field on Broadbridge Lane, the Plough Road playing field, the wooded strip on Weatherhill Road, and the allotments and nature garden at Keepers Corner. Some belong to the parish council, others to Tandridge or Surrey. Each of those needs its own cutting regime. We’ll price a parish council grass cutting contract line by line, cut to an agreed regime with cut-and-collect areas where wanted, and check the diary before each visit.

Churches and councils in Smallfield: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

Can you leave parts of a churchyard long for wildlife?

Yes. We’ll mow paths through meadow areas and cut the long grass once in late summer, then rake it off so the wildflowers aren’t smothered by a rich mat of hay.

Do you do tree work in churchyards?

No. We’re not tree surgeons, and churchyard trees often need consent before any work. We’ll point you to a qualified arborist.

Will you quote a council grass cutting service for a single site?

Yes. Send the specification and we’ll price it properly. One verge or one closed churchyard is a perfectly good contract as far as we’re concerned.