Eight new trees for Devizes churchyard

The flowering hawthorn trees were planted this week at St John’s on Long Street in the historic centre of the Wiltshire market town.   

The Rector of St John with St Mary, the Revd Jonathan Poston, said:    

“The flowering hawthorns will replace older trees that have died over the years, and will therefore restore the avenue along the path to the church from the Long Street gate.  

They will look particularly pleasant in the late spring and early summer when they are in bloom. They will be a reminder for future generations of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 – an anniversary that has never been seen in the thousand years since William the Conqueror.   

“I am particularly grateful to the team of volunteers who came out on a cold March day to get the work done so quickly.”   

Felicity Cole of the Friends of St John’s and St Mary’s Churchyards, said:   

“Although these fragile saplings don’t look like much at the moment, they will grow and within a few years give shade and oxygen to the churchyard – and they will already be taking carbon dioxide from the air.   

“It was a real team effort to get the trees planted so quickly – including from the team from Community Payback that dug the holes in advance. Afterwards, the Rector came and blessed them, that they might be a blessing to people in the town for decades to come.”