Pair Of Chapels At Oakham Cemetery

The pair of chapels at Oakham Cemetery were built in 1860 by Pearson Bellamy and J Spence Hardy from Lincoln. They are constructed from thinly coursed ironstone with pale ashlar limestone dressings and feature a coated slate roof. The chapels are single-celled and linked to a central tower that includes a carriage arch and spire, with gabled porches on the outer sides of each chapel. The design is symmetrical and reflects the Gothic Revival style, showcasing decorated tracery.

Notable architectural features include a chamfered plinth, angle buttresses with offsets and truncated pinnacles, and a tall carriage arch topped with a hoodmould, which is set within a gable that has a trefoil and traceried parapet. The tower has ashlar offsets and diagonal buttresses, with a tall single-light opening on each side, featuring colonnettes, decorative iron transom bars, and ogee hoodmoulds with finials. The octagonal spire has an offset base and lucarnes.

The links to each chapel have cusped lancets, and the doors beneath the vaulted soffit of the arch are topped with shouldered lintels. The chapels themselves have diamond-paned leaded lights in traceried three-light windows with hoodmoulds, and their gables are adorned with traceried parapets and crested ridge tiles. The outer porches include buttresses, pointed arches, and double doors. At the rear, the chapels have two-light windows and coped gables.

Inside, some fittings remain in the left chapel. This pair of chapels is an outstanding example of a design commonly used to combine conformist and non-conformist mortuary chapels, a plan-type that became popular from the 1850s onwards.