The Bourne Cemetery Chapel has been standing in the town cemetery, since its inception in May 1855. It is entirely as it was built, although electricity was added over the years. All of its’ structure is original, down to to the door handles, it was build to last.

After years of inadequate maintenance by Bourne Town Council, who assumed responsibility for the building from Bourne Urban District Council in 1974, a period of 33 years, during which the true value of this building was never recognised, and, when repairs were carried out they were generally not appropriate for the building, and generally ineffective, and indeed in some cases have helped accelerate the decline now visible on the building. Bourne Town Council then decided in 2007 that it would be too expensive to repair and should be demolished.

Fortunately the destruction of the building was prevented by the chapel achieving listed status of Grade II, thanks to the activities of Mr Rex Needle. Mr Needle’s account of this can be found in a downloadable document elsewhere on this website.

It is not the aim of  the Society to dwell on the failures of the past, but to take this opportunity to work with Bourne Town Council in taking control of the building to ensure that the chapel survives as a benefit to the town, the townspeople of Bourne, and the county of Lincolnshire.

Grants will be sought from various bodies to carry out the work. The case for the chapel is a very strong one, due to the age, design, and originality of the building and its’ contents, and we are confident that the necessary funds will be raised.

Support for saving the chapel has come from English Heritage, The Chapel Society and the Victorian Society as well as from numerous individuals with experience of such projects.

Would you like to sponsor, or donate, display stands for the Society.

We will be giving presentations to societies and groups, as well as general publicity opportunities, and require stands for this purpose. We will display your company logo on them.