St. Mary’s churchyard is a quiet refuge away from the bustle of Watford High Street. The church’s origins date back beyond the 15th century. When you stroll amongst the graveyard headstones, keep an eye out for a local landmark, the Fig Tree Tomb. The unknown atheist buried here in the early 1800s predicted that if God existed, a fig tree would grow out of his grave. A fig tree did indeed grow, but died in the early 1960s. How you interpret that is up to you. Also look for the grave of George Edward Doney, taken into slavery as a child in Gambia, who as a free man worked for 44 years as a servant in nearby Cassiobury House.
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