Cemetery Chapels

The cemetery chapels in Batley, built in 1865 by Walter Hanstock, serve both Anglican and Nonconformist congregations. Constructed from pitched faced stone with ashlar dressings, they feature pitched slate roofs adorned with gable copings and decorative gablet elements at the apex and eaves. The two identical chapels of rest are designed with a central archway topped by a square and octagonal tower, which is crowned with a tall, slender spire. Each chapel consists of four bays, a gabled porch, and buttresses.

The windows are two-light with cusped heads and quatrefoils, complemented by hood moulds that have figure head stops. The east windows are five-light with cusped intersecting tracery and a cinquefoil at the top, while the west windows are similar but consist of four lights. The central archway features cusped tracery on colonnettes with foliated capitals, supported by corbels. Above the archway, a three-tier tower with raking angle buttresses and square pinnacles rises. The second tier includes two-light traceried windows, while the third tier is octagonal with heavily moulded pointed arched openings, also featuring colonnettes and hood mouldings with foliated detailing. A perforated parapet with tall diamond-shaped pinnacles completes the design, leading to the tall slender octagonal spire.

Notable for its high standard of ashlar detailing, the chapels include intricate carvings of grotesques, beasts, birds, figure heads, flora, and foliage. The Nonconformist chapel has lost its interior and is currently used for storage, while the Anglican chapel was not inspected.