Visiting a natural burial ground

On Sunday 15th May 2016 I went with a small a group of people  to visit Higher Ground Meadow, a natural burial ground situated in Corscombe.  The family ownx 130 acres of land, where they had farmed sheep; now approximately 12 acres are currently used as the burial ground.

This is a family-run business, and Jo Vassie kindly showed us around the grounds in a 2-hour tour, her  son has come into the business and they now also offer a very respectful funeral directors’ service with their mortuary at a nearby site.

As you can gather from the name, the meadow is situated high up on the ridge and has stunning, far-reaching views over Dorset and Somerset.

We were first shown the barn: a beautiful indoor gathering place which has large windows looking out onto the fields and seating capacity for 100 people.  It has a log burner as the main form of heating and holds the bier, a beautiful wooden cart upon which the coffin or ashes can be laid and transported to the chosen plot. However, people can choose not to make use of the barn and do the whole of the service outdoors.

The hay meadows are cut once a year around September and baled, they consist of natural, native wildflower meadows. There are also small woodland patches in which Jo insists that only native trees are planted and the grass around the trees is managed similarly to average grass cutting.

The beautiful burial plots are left and become fairly  flat, blending into the shape of the field. Most plots here are left unmarked, but otherwise a tablet of oak with a brass name plate can be laid or set in flush to the ground.

Jo informed us that the land is kept in trust so will not be sold off. Recently the Vassie family has asked for planning permission to create a neolithic- style burial mound and indeed will be receiving visitors from the Planning office the day after our visit.  This seems quite an exciting project and I believe there is a successful tomb in Wilshire that was opened last year. Ashes are laid in small shelves inside the tomb-like chamber. I hope they are successful in gaining permission; the structure will likely become a small unobtrusive grassy mound in another section of their field.

I was impressed by the care and attention that has been put into this beautiful burial ground, the tour was informative and * would have considered a natural burial ground for myself,  however, I co-own a private plot of land and have already planned my final resting place.