All Saints Carshalton Churchyard

There has been a church on this site for centuries, at least since Norman times. The current building has sections dating back to the 12th century as well as more recent extensions, such as a Victorian dark flint façade and an 1891 nave and north aisle.

The churchyard has three sections from ancient, to middle (opened in 1916) and new (opened in 1938).

The whole area is a haven for wildlife, attracting a vast range of bird species, as well as foxes, squirrels and lizards. The ancient graveyard, in particular, is filled with wildflowers.

As well as 58 Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones marking the graves of those who died serving in the two world wars, there is the Willie Bird Memorial. It was named after the son of the landlord of The Cricketers, a local pub in The Wrythe, commemorating Wrythe men who died in the First World War.

Beside the churchyard wall is a spring, known as Anne Boleyn’s well. The story goes that her horse kicked a stone and a well appeared but the more credible explanation is that the name is a corruption of Boulogne, since the counts of Boulogne were landowners here in the 12th century.