Ss Mary & John Church in the Parish of Cowley St John, East Oxford, is to launch a website that invites people to explore the history behind the memorials in the Churchyard and to appreciate the wildlife protected in this urban green space. The website will be launched by Hugo Brunner, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, on Friday 11 May 2007 at 3.30pm at Ss Mary & John CE Primary School, Hertford St, Oxford, OX4 3AJ . Fairtrade refreshments will be served.

The website describes the recent restoration of the churchyard which had sadly become massively overgrown and a threatening environment for local people. It offers lists of memorials that might prove of particular interest: memorials commemorating a selection of people across the wide socio-economic spectrum typical of East Oxford, memorials commemorating priests and members of Religious Orders, war graves, and children's graves. The location of the graves is given using maps drawn up by an Oxfordshire Family History Society transcription team. There are fact sheets, researched and written by Annie Skinner, that give detailed information on facets of life in East Oxford in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Teachers' Guides for all Key Stages suggesting ways that the churchyard can be used as a starting point for historical study, and printable leaflets suggesting ways to explore the wildlife in each season of the year and to look for artistic memorials.

As part of the launch event, short contributions on the potential of the website will be offered by David Gimson, Head of History, Cheney School; Malcolm Graham, Head of Oxfordshire Studies, Oxfordshire County Council; Janet Keene, Oxford Urban Wildlife Group; Steve King, Professor of History at Oxford Brookes University; Adam Romanis, Vicar of the Parish of Cowley St John. A welcome to Ss Mary & John School, which owes its origins to Father Richard Benson, first Vicar of the Parish, will be given by Pip Murray, the Headteacher.

A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been crucial for the development of all the material on the website and for the restoration work that allows for safe educational visits. When the grant was announced, Dr Malcolm Graham, Head of Oxfordshire Studies with Oxfordshire County Council shared the vision that 'through research into the past lives of local people and the preparation of educational resource material, the project will encourage wider community use across the generations and will give local people a greater sense of shared ownership of this fascinating place'. The website will now be making that educational resource material freely and widely available.