Churchyard Primroses

Primroses – Chewton Mendip, Somerset, UK. ID JB_6255

Churchyards are gradually embracing their wilder side.  I’m not sure that I have a wider side.  But I love visiting the churches around my patch of Somerset.  Churchyards can be full of life, and spring makes that life bounce back.  And nothing bounces more than primroses.

So this post is dedicated to these little yellow flowers.

Chilton Polden

The village of Chilton Polden is at the precise centre of Somerset.  At the centre of the village is its tiny church with its pretty English churchyard.

Primroses – Church of St Edward, Chilton Polden, Somerset, UK.. ID JB_5308

If you mount a map of Somerset on some stiff cardboard and cut it out.  Then put a hole through Chilton Polden to thread a length of string.  It will hang balanced and level.

Primroses – St Edwards, Chilton Polden, Somerset, UK. ID JB_9836

Butleigh

Butleigh sits just south of its more famous neighbour of Glastonbury.  But do not be deceived, the churchyard is a hidden gem tucked away out of sight from the village roads.  The churchyard is full of primroses, cyclamen, daffodils and snowdrops – as well as wooden lambs.

Primroses – St. Leonard’s Church, Butleigh, Somerset, UK. ID JB_2332

Henton

The right hand side of the churchyard at Henton introduced me to the beauty to be found in Somerset churchyards.  To me it is a very special place.

Primroses – Christ Church, Henton, Somerset, UK. ID JB_6755

West Bradley

A village hidden off all the usual tracks.  West Bradley feels like a church of farming people.  The churchyard is a bit scruffy but all the better for it.

Primroses – Church of St Andrew, West Bradley, Somerset, UK. ID JB_6048

And finally…

Theale on the busy Wells to Wedmore road has the best display of primroses in the area.  Exposed and looking north over the valley of the River Axe towards the Mendip Hills the primroses here can catch a frost even in spring.

Primroses – Christ Church, Theale, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7548

Don’t miss later in the year when the churchyard is a sea of oxeye daisies.