St Clements Church Yass

This is one of the original churches in this area and is  an architectural delight.

St Clements is surrounded by many imported exotic trees, deciduous in nature, that lend themselves to the very "English nature" of the church.

St Clements has a bell tower with a series of bells and the bell-ringers still practice their art  at St Clements. Its a real delight to hear the bells pealing for weekend marriages and special days!

St Clements had one of the earliest grave yards but after the Yass Community Cemetery was opened burial mostly ceased there. There is one recent grave of a Ms. Connie Ikeson interred in 1965 but I do not know why she was regarded so special.

A Memorial Wall for placing ashes is all that now remains, other than a single family plot of the 'Britton family" - again, I do not know why they were so special.

The 'Britton' Plot.

A memorial to those still interred in the church ground

even tho' their headstones have been removed

One of the two Laidlaw headstones facing each other and

showing one of the current memorial walls beyond it.

The Laidlaw's were a prominent early family whose descendants

still survive in Yass. One of the main thoroughfares is named after the

Laidlaw family.

Many of the headstones are weathered and many were attacked by vandals. For this reason, I believe, the headstones were removed from the open consecrated ground and placed strategically around the church grounds.

One very interesting headstone is that of Captain  George Thomas Potter of the 28th foot, who died in this area aged 39 in 1849 . His headstone also contains a memorial reference to his father, Captain Leonard Busteed Potter, also of the 28th Foot, Brigade Major of the 4th Division who died on the 26th April 1812 of his wounds in the Peninsula Wars at the Battle of Badajoz on 7th April 1812.

There is an intriguing, unmarked sarcophagus outside the entrance to St Clements, that rests in the shade of a magnificent cypress tree.

St Clements is indeed a marvelous church and I must discover some more answers to the many questions I have of it and seek permission to photograph its beautiful interior.

The consecrated ground of the old cemetery area showing the

Britton family plot as all that remains in the centre.