Friends of Earlham Cemetery, Norwich

About Friends of Earlham Cemetery

The Friends of Earlham Cemetery group was set up in January 2011 by local residents. We aim to protect, conserve and enhance Earlham Cemetery for wildlife and as a place of freedom, recreation and enjoyment for the long-term benefit of all sections of the local community and other visitors.

The Cemetery east of Farrow Road is a County Wildlife Site and we are working closely with Norwich City Council (who own Earlham Cemetery) and Norfolk Wildlife Trust and have produced a Habitat Management Plan for the older parts of the Cemetery. In the past couple of years we have worked with TCV (The Conservation Volunteers) raking up cut grass, to reduce the fertility of the grassland and encourage wild flowers. We have also planted container grown wild flowers (such as Field Scabious) and sown patches of Yellow Rattle to reduce grass height and open up the sward for other wild flowers.

We hold regular informal walks for our members, starting at the main entrance on Earlham Road, by the Cemetery Office (see map). 

Our walks provide an opportunity to explore Earlham Cemetery and discover a surprising variety of plants, fungi, birds and insects. The walks also provide an opportunity for people who may not want to explore the cemetery alone to enjoy walking around in company.

We have been recording animals, fungi and plants in the Cemetery and there are lists of what we’ve found on our Wildlife pages. We have also researched its history, both as individuals and as a group. 

We are members of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends, along with around 80 other groups throughout the UK.

Join Friends of Earlham Cemetery

Annual membership of Friends of Earlham Cemetery is £5 per person. This entitles you to members’ newsletters and admission to members only events, such as walks or moth trapping evenings.

If you would like to join us, please contact us by e-mail (friendsofearlhamcemetery@yahoo.co.uk) with your name, postal address and e-mail address and we will send you details of how to pay. We prefer payment by cash or by bank transfer. 

Our use of personal data is covered by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) introduced on 25th May 2018.

Grants and Awards

Thanks to Norwich City Council, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ awards, the Aviva Community Fund, The Dulverton Trust and the Co-op Local Community Fund for grants towards our work, especially implementation of the Habitat Management Plan in Earlham Cemetery.

In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Friends of Earlham Cemetery won a Royal Horticultural Society ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ award.

On 22nd July 2014 we won the Group category of the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Community Biodiversity Awards 2014.

Earlham Cemetery won the Anglia In Bloom Biodiversity Award in 2015.

Our Constitution

Our constitution (Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file)

Our Logo

Our logo design has been created by Vanna Bartlett, and features a Holly Blue butterfly, ivy and a gravestone.

The Holly Blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) has two broods in a year. In Spring the female butterfly lays her eggs on the flower buds of Holly and in Summer Ivy flower buds are used.

The butterfly is found in woods, shrubby parks, gardens, churchyards and cemeteries and is often seen in Earlham Cemetery in Norwich.