Background
Westbourne Parish Council is responsible for the closed churchyard at St John the Baptist Church in Westbourne which was closed by order in council in 1859. The Local Government Act of 1972, Section 215, outlines the position regarding the maintenance of closed churchyards.
The Parish Council is responsible for maintaining the churchyard wall, the trees within the churchyard and the memorials to ensure they all are in a good and safe condition. Regular tree surveys and memorial stability testing are undertaken. The Parish Council raises funding towards maintenance costs through its Precept.
Churchyard records
St John the Baptist Church holds detailed records of each memorial in the churchyard which was carried out between 1999 and 2001 by an experienced team and are provided as links below. Hard copies are available to view on request. A separate record of the memorials inside the Church is held by the Church.
Please see the following documents:
Records in each section of the Churchyard
See the attachments below