Townsend Cemetery, Crewkerne
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Townsend Cemetery is a cemetery in
Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in south Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley, and borders the county of Dorset to the s ...
, Somerset, England. It is owned by Crewkerne Town Council, and jointly run by the Town Council and West Crewkerne Parish Council. The cemetery's lodge, two mortuary chapels, entrance gates, gate piers, walls and railings all became
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
buildings and structures in 1993.


History

Townsend Cemetery was established in 1873–74, at a time when the burial spaces in the churchyards of
St Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...
and Christ Church were reaching close to capacity. In March 1872, a vestry meeting was held to consider the creation of a cemetery and the appointment of a Burial Board. Both schemes were approved and the Burial Board was elected during the meeting, made up of Messrs. Cuff, Poole, Sparks, Horsey, Bird, Wills, Jolliffe, Hussey and Stembridge. A number of different sites around Crewkerne were considered for the new cemetery, including a field of around known as "Ten Acres" to the north-east of the town centre, which belonged to J. B. Phelps of
Clapton Court Clapton Court is a Grade II listed building, in Clapton in Gordano within the English county of Somerset. Local lords of the manor, the Arthur family originally built on the site. The current porch tower remains from the 15th-century house; the ...
. "Ten Acres" was voted as the preferred site during a vestry meeting of August 1872. A memorial was received by the Burial Board in September 1872 from inhabitants of Clapton, Hewish, Woolminstone and other hamlets on the west side of Crewkerne, requesting the cemetery be located on that side of the town, but it did not alter the Board's decision. In November 1872, a vestry meeting sanctioned the Burial Board to raise the required £3,000 for the cemetery through a loan. The cost included £1,250 for purchase of the site, £250 for the construction of boundary walls and fences, £225 for a lodge house, £1,000 for two chapels and £200 for laying out the grounds. By July 1873, £1,500 had been borrowed and the land had been successfully purchased. The Board had also approved plans by the nurseryman and landscape gardener Mr. J. Scott of Merriott for the layout of the grounds, as well as his tender to carry out the work for £150. With over 30 submissions received for the design of the chapels and lodge, those of the London architect George Nattriss were selected, along with the tender of Richard Draper of Crewkerne to build them for £1,452. A vestry meeting of July 1873 saw an additional £500 approved towards the cemetery's cost, owing to alterations to the original plans. This included adding a waiting room, office and strong room to the lodge and making some alterations to the chapels. The Board's £3,500 loan was to be repaid over the course of 50 years. Work on the cemetery began around August 1873 and continued into late 1874. The cemetery was in size, with being apportioned to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and to Nonconformists. While the cemetery itself was four acres, the Board purchased the entire field (leaving the remainder in reserve) as Mr. Phelps would not divide it. Over 2,000 trees and shrubs were planted in the grounds, which were made up of around 500 different varieties. Two chapels were built, one for the Church of England and one for Nonconformists. Both are connected by a central arch which supports a square bell tower and octagonal spire of
Hamstone Hamstone is a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material which weather dif ...
. The two-storey lodge was built at the cemetery's entrance and contained the cemetery keeper's apartment, a waiting room, board room, clerk's office and strong room. The chapels and lodge were built using local stone, with Hamstone dressings. The cemetery opened in 1874 and the
Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
,
Arthur Hervey Arthur Hervey (26 January 1855 – 10 March 1922) was an Irish composer, music critic, and an expert in French music. Life Hervey was born in Paris of Irish parentage – his father was Charles J.V. Hervey who owned Killiane Castle in County We ...
, consecrated the Church of England section, including its chapel, on 3 November 1874.


Burials

The main section of the cemetery contains approximately 6,800 burials. A new section was opened in 1990 and contained a further 600 burials as of 2018. The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
identifies nineteen casualties within the cemetery.


Notable burials

*
Martin Thornton Martin Thornton (11 November 1915 – 22 June 1986) was an English Anglican priest, spiritual director, author and lecturer on ascetical theology. His "theology of the remnant" has been influential in Anglican circles. He was active for much of ...
, English Anglican priest, spiritual director, author and lecturer, 1986. *
Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Second Tho ...
, English actress, broadcaster and author, 2014.


References


External links


Cemetery page
at Crewkerne Town Council * {{Cemeteries in England Crewkerne Cemeteries in Somerset Grade II listed buildings in South Somerset 1874 establishments in England