The Chapel of Rest

OLD BUILDINGS are landmarks in our history. They reflect the way things were in times past and illustrate the architectural styles, design and craftsmanship of a bygone era. Their worth transcends money and their future should not be judged by what can and cannot be achieved through budgetary requirements. If we destroy them simply because their upkeep will look bad on the balance sheet, then we are not keeping faith with those who have gone before and erasing valuable reminders of our past for those who come after.

The chapel of rest is a fine building of character, designed by the architect Edward Browning (1816-82) and one of the first to be erected in England after the passing of the Burial Act in 1853 which sanctioned burials outside the churchyard for the first time, and we should remember that when it was built, financial restraints were far worse than they are today when demolition is being considered yet were overcome. It forms part of the town cemetery that opened in 1855 and although the consecration was planned for March that year, the ceremony was deferred because a fence had not been erected on the eastern boundary, but this work was eventually completed and the service was conducted by the Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Rev John Jackson, on Saturday 26th May, as reported by the Stamford Mercury the following Friday:

His Lordship arrived shortly after 2 o'clock at the residence of the Rev Joseph Dodsworth (the chairman of the Burial Board) and at three, attended divine service at the church, conducted by the Vicar. The registrar read the petition of the Burial Board for the act of consecration to which the Bishop gave his consent. The Psalms specially appointed for the occasion were the 39th and the 90th, and the lessons were taken from Genesis 23, and 1 Thes. 4th c. from the 13th verse, all being applicable to the termination of the span of human life, and the provision of a burial place for the dead. At the close of the service, the Bishop was conveyed in a carriage to the cemetery, wither the clergy, the churchwardens and the Burial Board had preceded him.

After a short consultation in the lodge between the Bishop and the Board, his Lordship and the escort perambulated the boundary of the ground (reading the 49th and 115th Psalms), and thence to the episcopal chapel. His Lordship having taken his seat, the chairman of the Burial Board presented the instrument of donation, and the sentence of consecration having been read, the Bishop signed it and ordered it to be registered. These formalities concluded, his Lordship read an exhortation and four appropriate prayers, which were succeeded by part of the 39th Psalm, led by the church choir, and the service was terminated by the Bishop dismissing the congregation with the blessing. There was a very large attendance, including most of the neighbouring clergy and all the dissenting ministers of the town, and the site and buildings underwent the criticism of the spectators. The entrance gates are not yet finished and some other matters are in the course of completion. The sunk fence wall, on the east of the cemetery, for which the consecration had been deferred, is a great improvement.

The chapels are somewhat similar to those at Stamford and are nearly alike in the interior; they are floored with Minton, Staffordshire, tiles, and have stained deal roofs but the impact or string-course under the plate of the roof is plain in the dissenters' chapel while that in the episcopal chapel is inscribed in illuminated letters with the sentences: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord" &c; "O death where is thy sting?"; "Oh grave where is thy victory?"; "I know that my redeemer liveth." &c.

Administration of the chapel passed to Bourne Urban District Council on its formation in 1899 and then to the present town council when it was inaugurated in 1974 but since then the building has been allowed to fall into disrepair. The cost of bringing it up to standard could now be as high as £200,000 and in the summer of 2004, discussions began over its deconsecration.

At a meeting of the town council's amenities committee on June 22nd, deconsecration was proposed by the chairman, Councillor Shirley Cliffe, and seconded by the vice-chairman, Councillor Trevor Holmes, thus clearing the way for demolition. The issue was again discussed by the finance committee on July 6th and ratified by the full council on July 20th. On all three occasions, the proceedings remained confidential and only came to light after I sought confirmation under the Freedom of Information Act. As a result of these meetings, there was unanimous agreement for deconsecration although it is not known how many councillors attended, but an application was subsequently made to the Lincoln Diocesan Registrar.

The chapel was officially deconsecrated on 1st December 2004 at the request of the town council, presumably with a view to demolition because of concerns about the high cost of maintenance. A statement from the diocese on 3rd February 2005 said:

An Order was made by the Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Rev John Saxbee, on 1st December 2004, under Section 22 of the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991. This Order removed the legal effects of consecration from the Chapel of Rest. It also states that the building shall be used only for the purposes of storage, office and workshop accommodation in connection with Bourne Cemetery. Whilst the Order states that it was made on the application of the Archdeacon of Lincoln (as is required by the 1991 Measure), the original initiative came from the Bourne Town Council as owners of the Chapel of Rest. The Order was signed by the Bishop and two members of the Town Council.

The town council then began considering costings of the various options available to them, including conversion to a workshop and store, a cemetery staff facility or demolition, with the stones and slate being sold off as rubble. The existing covenants mean that the building cannot be used for residential purposes or as a community centre but ironically they do not prevent the council from pulling it down.

Throughout these negotiations, no move was made to save the building and the council's inactivity in regard to maintenance continued until the meeting of the finance and general purposes committee on Tuesday 9th January 2007 when members voted for the demolition option with few dissenters and this was endorsed by the full council at its meeting on Tuesday 23rd January.

This is the second time that a Victorian building of some note at the cemetery has been allowed to fall into disrepair by the local authority charged with its safekeeping. There was originally a lodge at the entrance, built at the same time as the chapel, but lack of maintenance over the years took its toll and in 1960, BUDC ordered its demolition and it was replaced by a modern bungalow for the cemetery supervisor, although the town council has now decided that it will be used in future by cemetery staff.

Both the description and appearance of the chapel are sufficient evidence for its preservation as a fine example of Victorian Gothic and it is only quite by chance that it is not listed, the last survey being carried out in Bourne in July 1977 when by some mischance, perhaps because it was so far out of town and may have been overlooked, it was not included in the 75 properties selected. Since then, the guidelines have changed, the chapel being thirty years older and there is a greater aesthetic appreciation of architectural styles from that and even later periods. A similar building in the town cemetery at Stamford has been restored and is fully used while another in the cemetery at Boston, one with less architectural merit, was granted Grade II listed status after pressure by local residents who raised public awareness when the borough council declared its intention to pull it down but councillors will now have to do their duty and prevent further decline.

In fact, Victorian chapels are usually protected and there are some 198 currently listed by English Heritage including fine examples at Whitworth, Lancashire, Ashover and Duffield in Derbyshire, Beer in Devon, Brentwood, Essex and Warkworth, Northumberland.

The cemetery chapel at Bourne has now been granted Grade II listed status by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 4th April 2007 following my application for spot listing to English Heritage and an assessment by their representative, Dr Dale Dishon. This paves the way for grant aid which is available for listed buildings but firm and decisive leadership will be needed and the will to do so by our town councillors instead of the procrastination and indecision that has been manifest in the past. But they must first grasp that it is not their task to preside over the cemetery's demise but to devise ways and means of ensuring that it is preserved for future generations, perhaps in another role. It was men of vision who built it and we need people of vision to ensure that it survives.

See The chapel will be preserved, says the town council





The circular window in the front wall of the chapel is a notable example of Victorian craftsmanship, blending stone with leaded lights, while the recesses in interior windows show the thickness of the walls. The deal roof was a particular feature of the design, as was the Decorated style window in the south wall. Carved heads are positioned at the base of each door arch, a total of four. Both chapels have floors finished with an alternating pattern of red and black Minton tiles and the stone walls are virtually intact. Ironically, the large red marble tombstone with a Celtic cross immediately in front is that of the Rev Joseph Dodsworth (1797-1871), chairman of the Bourne Burial Board when the chapel was built and therefore responsible for its design, and who served this town as curate and vicar for more than 50 years.

REVISED APRIL 2007