Tag: wildlife

Next Month

by Pete Lowdenin Events, General, History, News, Volunteers, Wildlife

Hi,

Firstly, an apology. I was going to tell you the story this month of the very last board meeting of the Company and the extraordinary decision they had to make there.  This was to be the anniversary spot this month. Sadly, I’m a bit dense. It should have been last month because it happened in June 1972!!

However, people appeared to like last month’s anniversary item, so its swings and roundabouts. I promise I will write up that story for the future

Next month I’m going to be giving the bulk of the newsletter over to Bill and Helen mainly. Bill’s contributions are from Facebook and we’re attempting to archive them all on here so they can be found more easily. And preserved too. Helen I’m sure will show us more of the wildlife in the Cemetery and it’s changing faces every month.

I’ll finish off the story of Peter Hodsman’s sons. Both stonemason’s of the Cemetery Company. Stonemason of the Cemetery

By the time of the next newsletter we should be back to ‘normality’, whatever that term might mean now.

With that July 19th date in mind, who knows, we may be able to meet up with the powers that be and start asking some searching questions about what the Council want from us and vica versa. We’ll see.

 

Anniversary: July 1880

by Pete Lowdenin General, History, Wildlife

This month the anniversary we are celebrating is an unusual one It took place in July 1880.

One of the problems that Hull General Cemetery faced, and surprisingly is still facing, is access to water. Not the rising water that you’d expect from a cemetery built alongside two drains. No, the problem was, and is, the difficulty in obtaining fresh water.

There was a well built when the Cemetery opened. This was in the work yard to the north east of the site. This was used by the workforce for watering the Cemetery horse, cleaning the stables, cutting the stonework and other tasks.

What a bore!

However there was nowhere for patrons of the cemetery to replenish their water for their flowers. After numerous complaints the Board decided to do something about this.

In June 1880 they asked a Mr Villiers, a surveyor, to construct a bore hole in the cemetery. A price was fixed of around £12 for this task and on the 1st July 1880 Mr Villiers set to.

The bore hole passed through many layers, as the Minute Books tell us, and finally reached a fresh water spring.

The creation of a water supply in the middle of the cemetery

So the borehole was 93 feet deep. The strata that this bore passed through is very interesting. It probably shows the way most of the geology of the Hull Valley is comprised. Clay, chalk, marl and flint. At some point it was a sea bed. A sea bed from million of years ago. I still have the proof.

When I worked in the Cemetery, when it was much less overgrown, it was possible to pick up Gryphaea arcuata by the handful. Known commonly as Devil’s Toenails, they are a fossilised mollusc or type of ancient oyster.

They lived mainly during the Triassic and Jurassic period. Approximately they lived 200 million years ago. I was always surprised that these fossils were so abundant. And also, only in Hull General. I never found any in Western Cemetery next door. What was going on?

A group pf Gryphaea

Jurassic Park

I now believe that I have solved that mystery. I think that they were abundant because they had been returned to the surface from the depths they had been buried in over those millions of years. By the drilling of this bore hole the debris from it would have been returned to the surface. In the debris the Gryphaea must have laid.

The Gryphaea were seeing the light of day for the first time in a very long time. This debris, from the borings, would have been scattered around the Cemetery. It’s hardly likely that it would have been carted away and there is no mention of it being moved away. As a result of the spreading of the debris these small fossils were strewn over a large area.

Well, that’s the best answer I can come up with anyway to explain their abundance..

Their presence in such quantities should perhaps cause us all to pause for thought. At one time they owned the site of the Cemetery. It truly was a Jurassic Park. An underwater one, true, but nevertheless it was their home.

Moving forward

Much, much later wild birds and aquatic mammals would have lived in this swamp land of the River Hull valley after the last ice age. Still later, hunters would have arrived and caught and killed these creatures. Setting up make-shift camps before moving on when the game dried up.

Still later, hardy sheep, goats and possibly cattle would have been driven on to the land in the summer when it dried sufficiently for grazing. When the winter rains came they would be driven back to stockades and huts on the high ground around Cottingham to live on hay until butchered and salted.

By the medieval period the site became permanent pasture land after drainage work. This pasturage and garden land was then transformed by the Cemetery Company into a manicured semi-forested area.

At present it has become a much more forested area than it has ever been. It’s probably at its peak now as a forest.

Change is the only constant of the universe

All of these changes have happened to this small stretch of land. Just 13 acres or about 8 hectares.

All of the above, from ancient oysters to forest trees have called it their home. And all have passed away as the present residents will at some point. There’s a small part of me that’s sad about that. There is, of course, a much greater part of me that is pleased about it too. These changes that have happened in the past and will happen in the future show that evolution continues. And without evolution life itself dies.

So, when people start getting exercised about such things, it’s as well to remember that. We’re not custodians. We’re just passing through like all the rest. And that includes the trees, the wildlife, the humans. We’re just a blink of an eye in the scale of things. Don’t get me wrong here. I would like all of the environment that I am familiar with to survive ad infinitum. It won’t but I’d like it to survive.

People talk blithely about ‘saving the planet’. I happen to know that the planet has, unless it is very unlucky and has some gigantic collision with another space object, at least another four billion years left. The phrase ‘saving the planet’ is totally meaningless. Trust me on this. The planet will be here long after we, the trees, the oysters have gone.

Taxi for Homo Sapiens?

When people use that term they are really saying ‘save the present environment so humanity, especially me and mine, can continue to exist’. Which is something similar to my comment earlier.

But, when you think of it, that is a pretty pointless exercise. We know the world will change, either by our doing (which seems likely) or some other factor (which also is likely).  The only thing we should be confident about is that it will change. Just ask the Gryphaea. They lived in the sea and here they are now, buried metres underground.

We have our time now, just like the Gryphaea had theirs then. And when our time is over… well, evolution will carry on.

And after a million years or so we’ll leave behind less trace than the Gryphaea.

I find that strangely comforting after a few years of picking up the detritus that other people leave in the cemetery.

 

 

Wonderful Wildlife

by Helen Bovillin General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife

Wonderful Wildlife

June

It is very disheartening to have to start a report with bad news.  At the start of June Hull City Council cut down the vast majority of the wildflowers growing in and behind the grass verge adjacent to the Cemetery on Spring Bank West.  An important resource for pollinating insects and in turn other wonderful wildlife has thus been lost, and in the middle of the bird nesting season too.

The Council has not at the time of writing this provided FOHGC with an explanation for their actions.  I also made my own complaint about the destruction in my capacity as a private individual.  The Council’s last email to me said they couldn’t respond yet ‘’due to the complexity of the issues involved’’.

I took the above photo just a few days before the destruction of this attractive and important wildlife resource.  The Council’s mowing also went back further than the grass verge and into the Cemetery itself.  This seems to be in direct conflict with the Stop Order the Council placed on the volunteers in April.

Birds

Now that the trees are in full leaf the birds are harder to see.  They can still be heard though – Chiffchaffs, Robins, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Chaffinches and many others’ songs filling the air as usual.  I once saw a report (I can’t remember where and therefore provide a link) that birds in urban areas sing up to 20% louder than their counterparts in the countryside.  This makes sense, as our birds have the traffic noise on Spring Bank West to contend with.

young blue tit

Some of the birds I did manage to see were busy gathering food for their chicks, many of which will now have fledged.  Young Blue Tits are the same size as the adults but are a lot paler in colour.  They have powder blue legs and the yellow gape is still visible at the sides of their beaks.

Butterflies and Other Insects

There were not many butterflies around this month.  The ones that emerged earlier in the year will have mated, laid their eggs and then died.  The period between that and the emergence of the next generation from July onwards is what has become known as the ‘’June gap’’.

There were still some Speckled Woods around though and I caught a brief glimpse of a Red Admiral.  I also found an Orange-tip caterpillar.  This will then pupate away from its food plant and emerge as an adult next Spring.

Speckled Wood butterfly

There are currently lots of these unusual little bugs around – they’re Ladybird larvae.

Ladybird larva

Flowers and other plants

Lots of Summer flowers are now starting to open inside the Cemetery, including a Rhododendron.  Opinions are divided as to whether this is a good or bad plant to have here, but it is small and not growing close to any of the headstones.  It adds an attractive splash of colour in a shaded area and provides a source of nectar for insects.

Bearing in mind the destruction of so many of the wildflowers on the grass verge, any source of nectar is more important than ever.

Rhododendron

The Cow Parsley, Hogweed and Wild Garlic has started to die back as expected.  There are plenty of smaller wildflowers now coming through including Buttercups, Speedwell, Wood Avens and Red Campion.

Some of the flowers planted by the volunteers prior to the Stop Notice are now starting to flower but I will talk about those in the next newsletter.

Campion

Mushrooms Wonderful Wildlife

Some more glistening Inkcaps were seen on a log, and I found some Common Inkcaps too.

Inkcap fungi

But the best find was a beautiful Chicken of the Woods!  It was the first time I’d seen one in the Cemetery but unfortunately a few days after I took the photo on the left someone removed most of it.  The photo on the right shows where the brackets have been sliced off.

Another sad, selfish and disheartening act, this time by an individual.  This has deprived other people of the change to simply enjoy looking at some beautiful and amazing specimens.

Chicken fungus

Mammals

A new sub-heading to reflect the very good news that the foxes have had at least two cubs!

Fox caught on camera

The foxes are rarely seen during the day so one of the volunteers placed their own trail camera in a secluded position away from the footpaths.  And the results were very encouraging to say the least!  The camera is no longer there; this was just a quick experiment for a few nights only.

Conclusion

Overall a month of mixed fortunes for the wonderful wildlife of our favourite cemetery.

We can only hope that the Council will allow the grass verge to recover so that we can once again enjoy seeing the wildflowers, butterflies, bees and other insects as we walk past or linger to take a photo or two.

The Reduced Activity of the FOHGC during April and May

by Bill Longbonein General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on The Reduced Activity of the FOHGC during April and May

As everyone should know by now, there has been a complaint made about the FOHGC. The Council are therefore holding an official enquiry. As a result there has been reduced activity of the FOHGC during April and May in HGC.

Here’s a summary of the reduced activity of the FOHGC during those two months.

April

The FOHGC received a couple of donations of £100 from Facebook members. This money was to purchase plants etc. The FOHGC also purchased a third Silver Birch and planted this, along with a mix of 15 hazel, crab apple and rowan trees donated by the Woodland Trust.

Since 2019 the FOHGC have planted well in excess of 300 native trees on the site.

The buzzard appeared to have left for a while but has since been sighted several times.

Pete Lowden continues to maintain the website. Helen Bovill’s monthly nature posts have been received enthusiastically.

Hull Civic Society do not contribute any funding to the FOHGC and now no longer pay the insurance. As a result the FOHGC have acquired their own insurance at a cost of £230 per annum.

Site visit

After the recent complaint to the Council, Andrew Wilson, Jennifer Woollin and Mike Tindall, council officers, met with the representatives from the FOHGC on site for a positive meeting. The notes of this meeting were distributed separately. Hull City Council request to the FOHGC

As agreed with Jennifer Woollin, the volunteers have planted the wildflower meadow with the special EW1 seeds recommended by Jennifer. We have however been prevented from planting the butterfly garden until the review is complete. A further planting will now have to take place in the autumn. As a result, and at the request of Andrew Wilson, Open Spaces manager, the wildflowers that were for the Butterfly Garden have now been planted outside the site on the Thorseby Street cut through.

Accounts

The accounts show that we have a balance of £4,705.25, although the monies for the insurance are not deducted as yet from that figure.

The volunteers re-erected the broken fence at the rear of the Princes Avenue shops. Sadly, it looks like more rubbish is beginning to pile up at the shop’s rear.

Several species of butterfly have been noted in the cemetery by Helen Bovill, particularly on the Spring Bank West frontage.

Many bird species, including blue tits, great tits, tree creepers, chaffinches and goldcrests have been seen in the cemetery this month. A tawny owl has been seen on the site. It has occupied one of the owl boxes erected by the group. We believe it mated and two owlets were seen in April in this box. They now appeared to have fledged. Wonderful Wildlife

The reduction of the activities of the volunteers has seen an increase in the amount of anti-social behaviour. This includes a fire, theft of litter bins and a proliferation of rubbish dumped. There have been an increase of people who have volunteered to litter pick on the site.

May

A few more donations were received from Facebook members.

Research was undertaken on several of the vases/urns that were recovered from the drain shaft in the Quakers section. Particularly the one of Ronnie Jackson who was lost on the St Romanus in 1968. Andy Lister has repaired the vase and mounted it on an oak plinth. It will be presented to Ronnie’s step brother during the next couple of weeks.

An English oak was donated from a teacher at Thoresby Primary. It was planted in the Workhouse Memorial area.

The two areas near the Thoresby Street cut through were tidied and the drains were cleared.

12 headstones that failed the Safety push test were laid flat by the Council.

The Quaker’s committee have asked the volunteers to help improve their burial section.

Conclusion

That’s a summary of the activities the FOHGC have done over the last two months. Not bad is it?

 

Next Month

by Pete Lowdenin Events, Facebook Archive, General, History, News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Next Month

Hi,

Next month on the site there will be the conclusion of the story of the creation of Hull General Cemetery. This story leads from witnessing the terrible scenes that burials in the churchyards of Hull in the early 1840s often displayed. It ends after the first burial in the first cemetery that the town ever possessed and the official opening of the site. I hope you enjoy it. The Creation of Hull General Cemetery: Part One 

There will be further articles from Bill Longbone’s posts on our sister sire; Friends of Hull General Cemetery As you know these initially featured on the Facebook. By placing them on this site the Facebook Archive will become a repository of research and knowledge for future students of the subject and site.

Helen Bovill will be providing more detailed and beautiful images and information on the wildlife that lives in Hull General Cemetery during the summer months. Wonderful Wildlife

Stone masons

There will also be the long trailed story of the master masons of the Cemetery’s monumental business. This business was often the sole profitable part of the Company’s business. I was hopeful that I could have used it this month. However I believe that as I am now able to use Bill’s extensively researched Facebook’s articles I should do that. I also believed that these items of Bill’s needed preserving by placing them on this site.

So the story of the master masons has been held over for June’s newsletter.

And of course there will be the usual Anniversary and News items. The anniversary item will move this time from Victorian times into the recent past. It will examine the final board meeting of the the Cemetery Company.

The news item is really dependent upon what happens over the period. One of the things that I hope to touch upon is the issue around the Council’s  request to stop working. It’s hoped that we may be able to report back on a positive decision of the Hull City Council for the FOHGC.

However we are committed to work with any decision that the Council arrives at. Hull City Council request to the FOHGC

Wonderful Wildlife

by Helen Bovillin General, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Wonderful Wildlife

Wonderful Wildlife in May

This is the month when a big transformation takes place.  We don’t have to do anything though – just stroll around and enjoy the wonderful wildlife in May!

May started with plenty of sunny weather although it was colder than usual for this time of the year.  Towards the end of the month there was plenty of steady and much-needed rain and that transformation is almost complete.  April’s small green shoots are well on the way to becoming fully-fledged leaves. Wonderful Wildlife

Birds

The big news is that the Tawny Owls have raised two babies (known as Owlets, pictured above)!  I only saw them both together on three consecutive days at the beginning of the month and they proved very popular with visitors to the cemetery.  The last day I saw them one was perched at the entrance to the nest box and the other was sitting on the roof.  I saw them stretching their well-developed wings ready for fledging and I hope they have now done this successfully.

There is at least one family of recently-fledged Long-tailed Tits in the cemetery as I recently saw an empty nest in the centre of some Brambles. I caught up with this family just outside the boundary in Western Cemetery and counted at least ten of them in a Cherry tree.

Long-Tailed Tits

Butterflies and other insects

Four species of white butterfly were seen in the cemetery with Large White, Small White, Green-veined White and Orange-tip flying in decent numbers whenever the sun was out.  This was the dominant butterfly colour in May.  Several Speckled Wood and one or two Peacock, Brimstone and Holly Blue were also seen.

Orange-Tip female

                                                

Ladybirds have now emerged from hibernation and are plentiful and varied.  The UK actually has a dozen or so native species with the 7-Spot being the most common.  You should therefore never assume a strange-looking Ladybird is a non-native Harlequin!

                                             

 

Flowers

The Bluebells were in full bloom growing in beautiful carpets throughout the cemetery. Many of them are the cultivated Spanish variety, having quite upright stems and conical bell-shaped flowers.  They have blue pollen and no scent.

Bluebells in the Cemetery

Native Bluebells on the other hand have curved, drooping stems and narrower bell-shaped flowers with rolled back tips.  They are also scented.  Only Bluebells that have ALL these characteristics are true native ones.  Those with only some are hybrids of the native and Spanish varieties.  The ones in the Orange-tip photo are most probably native ones although it wasn’t possible to smell them to confirm this!

The Wild Garlic (also known as Ramsons) is now in full flower in several places and you can catch its distinctive smell as you walk by.  These along with many other plants seen this Spring have flowered slightly later than usual.

                      Wild Garlic field

                                Close up of Ransom flowerhead

Another white flower that can now be seen inside the cemetery and on the Spring Bank West verge is Cow Parsley.  Its lush growth lines the footpaths and covers the areas further back in the centre.  It provides a valuable source of nectar for butterflies and many other small insects.  Most visitors to the cemetery in May, even after an absence of only a week or so, will notice the transformation straight away.  This is completely natural and does not make the area ‘’overgrown’’.  The sight lasts for a few weeks and then the plants start to die back, leaving seed heads that provide more food for the birds.

Cow Parsley

A similar-looking plant is the native Hogweed.  It is sturdier and slightly taller than Cow Parsley and has large flat leaves.  It also has large clusters of white flowers although the buds are dark pink on the outside.

Hogweed

There are still a few Celandines in flower.  Quite remarkable considering the first flowers appeared back in January!  Buttercups are now in flower and there is Hawks-beard and Common Vetch on the Spring Bank West verge.

Several plants have tiny flowers and many of these tend to get overlooked or simply dismissed as weeds. But once you know their names they stop being weeds and become wildflowers.  Some of those smaller ones that can be seen at the moment are Hedge Mustard (not to be confused with Garlic Mustard, which I talked about last month),  Shepherds-purse and Herb-Robert.

                                                  Herb Robert

Mushrooms

A new sub-heading to reflect some excellent specimens that were found this month!  Mushrooms and fungi can be seen at any time of the year on fallen logs and on living trees.

Dryad's Saddle fungi

Mushrooms can be quite difficult to identify and can vary quite a lot between specimens. Some, like this Glistening Inkcap, deliquesce very quickly – these two photos were taken just 24 hours apart.

                                            Fungi

 

May has been a month of changeable weather and rapid transformation.  The wonderful wildlife that lives in the cemetery has continued to thrive and new lives are being nurtured in peace and security all over the site.  I hope to talk about these in the next newsletter.

 

 

Next month

by Pete Lowdenin Events, Facebook Archive, General, History, News, Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Next month

Next month in the June newsletter, the second part of the Creation of Hull General Cemetery will be posted. I’m also hopeful of posting the first part of a work on one of the master stonemasons of the Company. I’d love to title it Stoned but Search Engine Optimisation would throw a fit. I’ll come up with something.

Helen will grace this newsletter with more of her stunningly beautiful photographs of the natural world that lives and thrives in the cemetery.

Also, we’re hoping to add more stuff to the website. One will be called Facebook Archive and it will feature the research of Bill Longbone and Karen Towner. Both post on Facebook such interesting stories around the people buried in the cemetery. Unfortunately, Facebook ‘loses’ them by, in effect, moving on. Well now, the stories will be found here too so no more searching.

Also next month in the June newsletter there will be another anniversary, and, of course, whatever news there is.

See you then.

Wonderful Wildlife

by Pete Lowdenin General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife2 Comments on Wonderful Wildlife

WONDERFUL WILDLIFE

Here is the latest posting from Helen Bovill of her series ‘Wonderful Wildlife’.

owl

April 2021

A rather cold month with several days starting at sub-zero temperatures. Despite the well-known saying about ‘’April showers’’ it was a very dry month with no significant rainfall. There was still plenty of warm sunshine though and the cemetery is teeming with wonderful wildlife.

Birds

This month’s star bird of prey is the Tawny Owl (pictured above). It was first photographed by a visitor to the site in late April and I was lucky to see it myself a few days later.  This stunning bird is slightly smaller than a Wood Pigeon.  Also seen was a Sparrowhawk but the Buzzard hasn’t been seen recently.  However there have been reports of two of them flying around the adjoining Western cemetery.

I also saw a Redwing earlier in the month.  It might have just been passing through but it landed in one of the cemetery’s trees so it counts!

redwing

The air is full of birdsong and the many Robins and Wrens provide some of the most beautiful woodland sounds.  Another bird with a fine voice is the Blackcap.  The birds’ singing reaches a peak in early May.  This is why International Dawn Chorus Day takes place on the first Sunday in May.  Why not get up early and have a listen?

blackcap

But it wouldn’t be Spring without the very distinctive sound of the Chiffchaff coming from high up in the trees.

chiffchaff

There are a number of Blue Tits in the cemetery and some are making good use of the nest boxes.  Blackbirds, Great Tits, Blue Tits and Coal Tits are gathering nesting material (other birds’ feathers seem to be quite popular).  Small groups of Long-tailed Tits can be seen darting from tree to tree and there are Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Goldcrests, Dunnocks and Treecreepers living in the cemetery as well.

blue tit

Butterflies and other insects

Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Commas continued to be seen.  Brimstones, Orange-tips, Speckled Woods, Small Whites and Green-veined Whites also started to emerge.  All have been seen inside the cemetery but the easiest place to see them is on the grass verge running alongside the cemetery on Spring Bank West.

Brimstones always rest with their wings closed and are a bright shade of lemon-yellow.  The females are much paler, almost white.  This is another butterfly that overwinters as an adult.

brimstone

Orange-tips started to emerge towards the end of April.  These rest with their wings open as well as closed.  The female lacks the orange markings.  They overwinter as a pupa so this one is brand new. The markings on the underwings are actually made up of yellow and black scales – it’s just the light that makes them look green.

orange tip

Speckled Woods started to emerge towards the end of April too.  They are the only UK butterfly that can overwinter as a pupa or as a later stage larva. Male and female markings have no obvious differences.

speckled wood

Hoverflies, Bees and other insects are now in abundance.  Several mounds looking like miniature molehills have started to appear on the ground.  These mark the entrances to the underground nests of Tawny Mining Bees.

tawny mining bee

Flowers

Celandines were abundant along the Spring Bank West verge up to mid-April.  Dandelions are now in abundance there, together with Daisies and other wildflowers.  These include Cuckooflower, an important plant for all life stages of the Orange-tip butterfly.

cuckooflower

Another important plant for Orange-tips is Garlic Mustard and this is now starting to flower.  This seems to be its best year yet.

garlic mustard

The Celandines are now in full flower inside the cemetery and clusters of them can be seen just about everywhere.  Other spring plants are now in flower including Periwinkle, Red Dead-nettle, Groundsel, Common Chickweed, Common Dog-violet and Yellow Archangel.

yellow archangel

April has been a great month for the cemetery’s wonderful wildlife and the ground is carpeted with greenery in most places.  Last month’s small green shoots are turning into fully-fledged leaves.  Cow Parsley and Bluebells are also starting to flower.  May will be their peak month so I’ll talk about those in the next newsletter.

Wonderful Wildlife

by Pete Lowdenin General, News, Wildlife1 Comment on Wonderful Wildlife

2021: The story so far

January got off to a great start.  The volunteers and visitors to the cemetery enjoyed some good and frequent views of a Buzzard. They’re not very common in and around Hull so to have one in the cemetery was an unexpected pleasure.  It’s not known whether it’s male or female though, but it is still being sighted occasionally.  February was a month of contrasts, with a week of snow and sub-zero temperatures at the start of the month.  It ended with a week of sunshine and higher than usual temperatures.  There was plenty of warm sunshine in March too.

Flowers

This winter was a bumper one for Snowdrops, with at least 3 different types in flower all over the site.  The sunshine and higher than average temperatures during that last week of February gave the Lesser Celandines flowering in the grass verge on Spring Bank West a welcome boost.  These low-growing bright yellow flowers open up in the sunshine and typically have between 8 and 10 petals although they can sometimes have as many as 12 or 13.

Lesser Celandines can also be found inside the Cemetery and these are now starting to flower, although being in partial shade they’re a little behind the ones on the grass verge and the stems of their flowers are noticeably longer as they reach for the sun.

The Blackthorn is already in flower – its white blossoms appear before the leaves do, unlike the Hawthorn which flowers slightly later in the Spring after its leaves have opened.

 

Butterflies and other insects

The Lesser Celandines provided a valuable source of nectar for some early butterflies emerging in late February.  I counted 8 Small Tortoiseshells one day, plus a Peacock.  Both species overwinter as adults in sheltered vegetation and will no doubt have been tempted out by the warm sun.

Small tortoiseshells

Butterfly sightings continued throughout March whenever it was sunny, with some more Small Tortoiseshells and 2 more Peacocks seen on the grass verge just before the Spring Equinox.

 

A Comma, another butterfly that overwinters as an adult, was seen later in March, again on the grass verge.  It gets its name from a distinctive white comma-shaped mark on the underside of its wings.

Comma butterfly on celadine

There were lots of other insects buzzing around the grass verge in late March too including a Bee-fly, the first time I’ve seen one there.  This small fluffy fly is harmless to humans and uses its long proboscis to get nectar from flowers.  When hovering its wings seemingly disappear in a blur of movement.

Bee-fly at rest

 

Birds

There are several Wood Pigeons living in the cemetery and these can be seen every day pecking around on the ground or flying noisily in and out of the trees.

There is also a pair of resident Stock Doves and these are usually seen together, sometimes with the Wood Pigeons.  Stock Doves are around the same size as feral Pigeons and sometimes hang around with them too.

The Stock Dove is on the left of the photo – its band of blue/green feathers is larger and more noticeable than on the Wood Pigeon and it lacks the white patch.  The Wood Pigeon is the larger of the two species although this is not apparent from the photo.

Pigeons and Doves

 

The smaller birds have started to pair up and look for suitable nesting sites, but I’ll say more about them in the next newsletter.

Overall a very good start to the year, and with many of the trees and shrubs already showing small green shoots there is the promise of much more wonderful wildlife to come!

Postscript: Helen Bovill

Helen Bovill is a member of the FOHGC. She is a gifted naturalist and photographer. Her photographs have graced the FOHGC Facebook site for a while now. It’s with great pleasure that we now have the chance to share in her knowledge and expertise here. Helen has kindly consented to write an article every month on the broad subject of nature for the website newsletter. This is the first of what I hope will be many such articles. So sit back and enjoy.

The work done by the FOHGC during early spring

by Pete Lowdenin Events, History, News, Wildlife

The work done by the FOHGC during early spring has continued during the present lock-down period. Obviously the bird nesting season has begun during this particular period so the FOHGC has taken this factor into account in their planned work. The volunteers have been keeping their social distance and taking additional precautions. The work done by the FOHGC during early spring is noted below.  The further work that took place in March follows on.

Summary of activities in February

Hull City Council Planning Department have advised us that we do not require planning permission for the storage cabin. The cabin will be ordered in the near future.

The buzzard appeared to have left the site. This was not the case however, and it has since been sighted several times.

The Facebook site continues to grow under the management of Barbara Lowden, and we now over 1000 members!

Pete Lowden continues to add various new facilities onto our website, including past research, news updates etc. This seems to be very popular. Pete is also trying to get guest ‘specialist’ writers to contribute.

The photographic record and the digitising of the burial records

The Photographic Record Project is now complete and transferred onto Access Database. This is complete with a ‘name’ index on Excel Spreadsheet, although the volunteers seem to be finding even more unrecorded stones! Several more previously unrecorded graves have been uncovered by the volunteers. These have been photographed and placed on the database and highlighted as a new find.

Kevin Rudeforth will try to upload the database to the Website. A copy will be available to East Yorkshire Family History Society, the Carnegie Trust and the Hull History Centre.

Eva La Pensee, secretary of the FOHGC, has contacted Philip Hampel, Principal Conservation Officer. Philip’s area of responsibility lies mainly in terms of heritage. He thanked the FOHGC for their work in HGC and said that the digitising of the burial records will be a great resource.

The digitising of the records is ongoing so it is difficult to give a precise figure of how much has been done. The work was divided into five yearly periods. Each volunteer went away with their ‘period’. The entire 20th century is now digitised. The project, although no end date was put forward, will likely be completed early next year. Our partners mentioned above, in terms of the photographic record, will receive a copy of the work.

An example of the burial registers.The first 10 burials recorded in HGC

The snowdrops have had a great show this month and the daffodils are now coming into full bloom. Eva La Pensee donated a large number of hawthorn, blackthorn and buckthorn plants. They have all now been planted alongside the Workhouse Area path. All appear to be healthy and well established now.

Meetings

Subsequent to the Zoom meeting, Karen Towner, Helen Bovill and William Longbone met up with Andrew Gibson of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the notes of which were circulated.

Jennifer Woollin has emailed copies of the digitized Tree Survey which were circulated.

Karen Towner, Helen Bovill and William Longbone met with Jennifer Woollin on the 2/3/2021. This was to look at the tree survey plans and discuss the planting regimes. I will circulate my notes over the next couple of days.

Two more nesting boxes have been made by volunteer Andy Lister, depicting the names of  WW1 and WW2 fallen.  These were erected in the central wild flower meadow.

Insurance cover

We understand that the Hull Civic Society have decided not to include FOHGC on their future insurance policy. This is disappointing, as we have had no formal notification or reason from the them for its decision. We will now arrange our own cover by for the coming year.

Vine wires have been fixed on the rear of a building near the demolished chapel. Honeysuckle and ivy have been planted there. It is hope they will  conceal the wall.

We are still awaiting the chippings from Hull City Council. The chippings will enable the volunteers to maintain the pathways.

One of the descendants of the cooper on the whaling ship ‘Diana’ has adopted Gravill’s monument and planted it with snowdrops.

Ground ivy

The FOHGC have obtained permission from Jennifer Woollin to remove ground ivy from the wild garlic sites and other localized areas. This includes any gravestones. The wild flower meadow can now be made ready for planting.  We are advised this should not adversely affect nesting birds.

We haven’t yet received the accounts, but there have been no outgoings this month, except for the £10 subscription to the National Association of Cemetery Friends.

There is an area at the rear of the cemetery near the wildflower meadow. Many damaged kerb stones have been left there and this area has long been used as a ‘dumping’ ground.  It has now has now been tidied and planted with wild flower seeds. The kerbs have been checked for any numbers/inscriptions and recorded.

volunteers tree planting

The work done by the FOHGC in March

The volunteers have been extremely busy during the March lock-down period, with the volunteers keeping their social distance and taking additional precautions.

Summary of activities in March

 The storage cabin was ordered, delivered and erected in its agreed position at the rear of the Princes Ave shops. Thanks were given to Mike Tindall and Andrew Wilson for their support in obtaining the facility.

It has been fitted with storage and tool racking.

Further donation and more trees

A donation of £250 was received from Messrs Donaldson Filters to enable the group to purchase trees and plants. A further £20 was received from Stuart Johnson.

A flowering cherry was purchased and planted on the SBW verge, it is now in full blossom. In addition, an English oak, 2 silver birch and an alder have been purchased and planted.

We have been notified by the Woodland Trust that the 15 saplings awarded to us will be delivered in the next 3 weeks.

Nature

The snowdrops continued to have a great show this month, the daffodils are in full bloom and the bluebells and wild garlic are now awaiting their turn!

The hawthorn, blackthorn and buckthorn plants donated by Eva, and planted alongside the Workhouse Area all seem to be in bud and flourishing.

Several species of butterflies have been noted in the cemetery by Helen Bovill, particularly on the Spring Bank West frontage.

Many bird species, including blue tits, great tits, tree creepers, chaffinch and goldcrest have been seen in the cemetery this month.

There have been several sightings of the buzzard. We long to see a mate for him / her.

Visit from council officers

Jennifer Woollin and Adam Sivel-Thompson visited the site this month. They agreed that the trees that were adversely affecting the Thomas Stratten tomb and nearby grave can be removed by the volunteers. There are no nesting birds in them.

As agreed with Jennifer Woollin, environmental officer for the council, the volunteers have begun to prepare the wild flower meadow for planting. This should not adversely affect any nesting birds. We have many wildflower seedlings including sunflowers, cornflowers, cowslip etc ready for planting.

Jennifer  and Adam Sivel-Thomson, one of Jennifer’s colleagues, were delighted to be shown the Giant Puffballs and Scarlet Elf Cup fungus. They said this fungus was particularly rare, especially in an urban environment.

Scarlet Elf Cup fungi

Website and Facebook

Pete Lowden continues to add various new facilities onto our website, including past research, news updates etc. This is very informative and seems to be very popular, Helen Bovill has agreed to submit a monthly ‘nature’ post to the website. Pete is endeavouring to get guest ‘specialist’ writers to contribute.

The Photographic Record Project is now complete and transferred onto Access Database. The volunteers have found several additional headstones. These have been added to the database. Kevin is going to try and upload the database to the Website. A copy will be available to EYFHS, Carnegie Heritage Centre and the Hull History Centre.

The Facebook site continues to grow under the management of Barbara Lowden. We now have over 1070 members!

More discoveries

Captain William Cape died in the Crimea. The previously unknown plaque recording this has recently been unearthed.  A frame made to keep it together has been assembled.

The Alder family’s unrecorded grave has been unearthed. This has a stylized Alder tree carved on it. The Friends have purchased an alder tree. In agreement with Jennifer Woollin and Adam Sivel-Thompson, it has now been planted adjacent to the Alder grave.

Insurance and chippings

The Civic Society have decided not to include FOHGC on their future insurance policy. The FOHGC still have had no formal notification or reason from the Civic Society for its decision. Quotations for a new policy to cover the volunteers activities and the cabin/tools etc have been received. The new premium will be approximately £250. Once we have agreement to proceed from the members Bill will organize the policy.

We are still awaiting chippings from HCC to enable the volunteers to maintain the pathways.

The cylindrical ‘granite’ off cuts, donated by Steve Griffin of Odlings Ltd, have been laid into the path near the Main Gate by Pete Lowden. When we receive another delivery, the other side of the path will be completed.

Awaiting accounts and bank statements

We haven’t yet received the accounts from Natasha, nor the bank statement from John Scotney, chair of the FOHGC. There has been quite a lot of expenditure this month with the cabin, trees etc. Bill Longbone has laid out the money and anticipates a cheque from Natasha in the near future.

Miscellaneous

The back of the princes avenue shop

After reporting the issue of dumped furniture in the yard of the rear of Princes Ave shops, most of it has now been removed. The volunteers will re-erect the broken fence to secure the property when it has all been cleared

The back of the Princes Avenue shops after some rubbish has been removed

Three signs advising that there is CCTV in the cemetery have been mounted. One is at the Thoresby St edible garden. The Princes Avenue shops has one. Another is near the laurel ‘drug den’.

Jennifer and Adam have confirmed that the volunteers can cut back the laurels as there are no birds nesting in there.

One of the members of the Facebook site purchased four further signs regarding littering. These were affixed prominently in the Thoresby Street cut through. Thank you Eloina.

Don't be a tosser notice

Bill Longbone 26/3/2021