Take a moment to sit on the second bench, dedicated to Richard Seymour. Just ahead you can see his grave, ornamented with a carved hare and a fox. In the hedgerow you may see a wild rose. Wild roses mostly have thorny stems and bear single flowers in the early summer. The heads then produce fruits known as rose hips, which turn a striking red in the autumn.

​

In Christianity the rose has long been used as a symbol of Mary – the woman who gave birth to Jesus and to whom this church is dedicated. A fragrant and beautiful bloom symbolising Mary’s beautiful role in God’s story of grace!

​

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu (Traditional English carol, c. 1420)