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An important part of the character of this churchyard is the gravestones which tell the story of the history
of the parish for almost 1,000 years. They reflect what people thought about death, and what the craftsmen felt about design. The gravestone is not only a marker for the body but a statement of faith in
the resurrection and the glorious life to come. So a churchyard should be a symbol of the church's care and concern for the parishioners both in this life and after death.
Of all the land in this parish that of the churchyard has survived undisturbed and untouched for
centuries. Here are the only remains of the ancient grassland, where wild flowers grow, where small animals live to give food for kestrels and hawks. The trees provide nesting places for birds and the
source of their food.
High Hoyland church and its churchyard are situated in the centre of an iron age settlement some thousands
of years old. Burials have taken place there since ,804 AD and a few Saxon and medieval tombstones do survive. Inside the church, built into the north wall are a number of grave slabs, which were originally in
the churchyard, marking the grave of some Saxon craftsmen. There is a fragment of a medieval stone of one of the medieval parish priest's since carved upon it is a chalice. When Dr. Joseph Hunter visited
the church in 1831 he recorded many early monuments that have since vanished. 'These were destroyed during a careless restoration of the church in 1908.
The increase in number of monuments after l660 was due to the rise of prosperous clothiers, farmers, skilled
and landowners. These are valuable because they show the size and prosperity of the local community at a given time. The north side of the church has few tombstones since this was the area reserved for the
burial of suicides and the un-baptised.
Until the improvement in roads, the coming of the railway and canal, village communities relied on the local
quarry for stone and these were carved by local craftsmen who also repaired the buildings in the parish. Their skills were handed down with their designs from one generation to the next as can be seen from a
study of these gravestones.
Under the south wall of the church are a number of gravestones dated between 1670 and 1700, all made from
local stone but in a state of decay. These were originally inside the church but were removed and thrown out in 1908 into the open atmosphere for which they were never intended. 'The decoration round
the edges are a fine example of craftsman's art. The memorial to Hannah Copley who died at the age of 104, having her last child at 50, is a fine example of the work of a mason in the reign of Queen Anne.
Those of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reveal a high standard of lettering. Every
letter form is used, incorporated in a design that has never been equalled. Some of these are even signed by the craftsmen. The tombstones of the Norton family of Scissett are excellent examples of art in
stone. These should be compared with the mass produced stones in the new portion which were divorced from our native tradition.
There are a few epitaphs surviving which are worth noting such as,, 'Here lies he that was ,as ye, and
ye as ye shall shortly be'. Again another reads ,'Me today, thee tomorrow.' A very profitable afternoon can be spent in studying tombstones to discover the faith of those lying below, their occupations
and something of their lives in the parish.
John Addy
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