St. Andrew’s is a small church located in the parish of Letheringsett. The church falls within the Glaven Valley an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is a beautiful flint round towered church.
During the 1980s and 1990s it was recognised for the large population of meadow saxifrage (
Saxifrage granulate) plants found throughout the churchyard (over 2,000 individuals were recorded) and was specifically managed for many years to encourage the growth of this plant. Unfortunately over time the churchyard management changed and the number of meadow saxifrage plants dwindled. As of 2016 St. Andrew’s church became part of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Churchyard Conservation Scheme and the church has adopted a mowing regime in the churchyard o try and increase the number of meadow saxifrage and other wildflowers present.
Although not a large churchyard it is species rich with a number of interesting plant species being found namely wall rue (
Asplenium ruta-muraria), meadow saxifrage, oxeye daisy (
Leucanthemum vulgare), grey sedge (
Carex divulsa ssp. Divulsa), pignut (
Conopodium majus), hart’s tongue (
Asplenium scolopendrium) and male ferns (
Dryopteris filix-mas). The churchyard is surrounded by a flint wall, which on the north-western area has a good population of ferns.
Habitats: Unimproved grassland and stonework
When to visit – To see the meadow saxifrage in flower the best time to visit is from mid-April to the end of May. However, the church is awash with ox-eye daisy later in the summer, so definitely worth another visit during June or August.
Associated Group - St. Andrew’s Church Congregation
Get involved? You can help the church with the management of its churchyard conservation areas by helping to rake the areas in late summer. To find out more email the North Norfolk Workout Group on
[email protected]
Submit a wildlife sighting - Your wildlife records are important to us and we would love to know what wildlife you see when visiting this churchyard.To submit a wildlife record
click here.
Website -
Glaven Valley Churches