Churchyard
The churchyard at St Matthew's was originally consecrated in 1798, when the present Church building was built.
It was first extended in 1823 and then again in 1862. More information can be found on the History page of this website.
The churchyard was closed for burials in October 1996.
We are grateful to Calderdale MBC's Funeral Services Manager, who arranges for maintenance of the churchyard,including cutting the grass and maintenance of the walls and paths . Special thanks to the Community Payback Team, who have worked hard over past years (2014) to clear the brushwood and undergrowth in the southern parts of the churchyard, and who continue to maintain the area around the graves.
Within the churchyard can be found the base (socle) of the old Saxon Cross dating from the 10th or 11th centuries, evidence of early Christian presence on the site of St Matthew's church.
An area is set aside within the churchyard for the interment of cremated remains in accordance with Diocesan guidelines. Enquiries regarding the internment of ashes should be made to the Vicar. The new Diocese of Leeds has issued new regulations relating to Churchyards under the Chancellor's General Directions. Issue 2 will come into force on the 1st January 2018. Further details on these regulations can be obtained from other the Vicar or the Churchwardens.
All enquiries regarding past internments in graves should be addressed either to the Vicar or to the Churchwardens. A charge may be made for extended searches in accordance with the scale of charges set down by the Diocese.
The history of the churchyard, together with details of burials in the original 1798 area and the 1823 extension are to be found in Section 3 of the document History of St Matthews, which is available for download.
If you are looking for more information about burials in the churchyard and the inscriptions on the gravestones then local historian Andy Eccles has produced an excellent web site called myrastrick.com that gives a great deal of information.