A SANCTUARY area in the grounds of All Saints Parish Church in Okehampton has been completed, thanks to donations from local organisations and individuals.

The natural clearing in the graves, now adorned with curved seats around a stump carved with a prayer, was blessed by parish priest the Rev Stephen Cook last Sunday, July 29.

The area has been given a facelift to provide a peaceful place for people to soak up the atmosphere and observe the wildlife.

Project organiser David Back said the area was for the whole community to enjoy.

‘We’ve had such encouraging comments about it and the number of people we’ve had up there already has been absolutely unbelievable,’ he said. ‘We’ve even had musicians – two people playing the guitar and the fiddle. People have been coming up to me and saying how wonderful they think it is.

‘It is a community project, that’s the most important thing about it. You don’t have to have any faith to go up there, and you can be any religion as well. This is the main burial ground for Okehampton, for the whole community, and this is for the whole community too.’

The focal point of the area is a tree stump topped with a crown carved with a prayer by local craftsman Steve Carroll of Greenspace at Sourton Cross.

It is surrounded by four curved wooden benches, where people can sketch the churchyard or just sit and enjoy the peace and quiet.

The project is part of the Exeter Diocese Devon Living Churchyards Project, which is about promoting the wildlife benefit to be found in many churchyards.

Donations towards the £3,400 cost came from Okehampton United Charities, Okehampton Rotary Club, Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council and Okehampton Town Council. A number of individuals with family links to the church have also contributed and fundraising events held by the congregation helped to swell the funds.