St Michael the Archangel Church in Chagford has come runner up in this year’s Devon (Campaign to Protect Rural England) best hurchyard competition.

The competition, which is now in its fifth year, sees judges, the charity’s Director Penny Mills and Trustee Ivan Buxton, travel the length and breadth of the county visiting entries, with many this year having chosen to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee.

Following the announcement of results, Devon CPRE, described the St Michael the Archangel churchyard, located in the centre of town, as ‘well-managed’ and acknowledged its regular use as a thoroughfare for both people and animals, noting that ‘judges found not one scrap of litter on their unannounced visit’ and that they were ‘impressed by the beautiful signs and noticeboards.’

The Reverend Paul Seaton-Burn, based at the church, said: ‘Thank you to every single one of you who play your part in maintaining what is the green heart of Chagford.’

As part of the competition, entrants were marked on their initiatives to encourage wildlife. Nicky Scott, a Chagford resident know to many as ‘Dr Compost’ given his role as former compost coordinator for Devon and as leader of the More Meadows community group, has played an instrumental role since 2018 in changing the regime of the churchyard to enhance its biodiversity, alongside his daughter.

As part of his daughter’s university studying, the pair ran a ‘Bioblitz’ in 2018 and 2019 - an intense period of biological surveying which strives to record all the living species within an area, namely, the churchyard.

Nicky said: ‘It’s been quite a journey to get to this point, but people have gone on to love all the work that’s been done. Initially we contacted the vicar, then had meetings with church wardens and things went from there. We were able to demonstrate to residents that the idea of wild and wonderful was good. It led to visits from many groups and charities such as Devon Wildlife Trust.

‘This award is fantastic, it really proves our position in the county. We all really care for the churchyard and we’ve proven that you don’t always have to tidy every scrap of nature; untidiness can be good and help things to grow. We’re hoping to re-enter the competition for the third time next year.’

Nicky Heyworth, Chagford ward borough councillor, said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted for the church. There are so many in Chagford who work hard on keeping its surroundings beautiful for the community and they try so hard to make it friendly for birds and bees as possible. I often walk along the pavement outside the church and the garden is at eye level. In the spring you have a stuning carpet of flowers which my grandchildren love seeing.

‘The church is so generously located so as to be acessible for everyone. You can’t help but have your heart uplifted by the garden, whether you’re going into the church, passing by or just visiting Chagford.’