Mortuary Chapels At Ware Cemetery

The Mortuary Chapels at Ware Cemetery, designed by architect Thomas Smith, were built between 1854 and 1855 and are now disused. Constructed from brick with a cement 'rock' facing and bitumen-lined joints, they feature artificial stone dressings, ornamental bosses, and gargoyles made from cast cement or Coade stone, topped with Welsh slated roofs. The chapels are arranged in an L-plan, consisting of twin chapels with three bays each, positioned at right angles. The south chapel serves Anglicans, while the north chapel is for non-conformists, with a tower located in the re-entrant. The design is a free interpretation of the 14th century Decorated style.

Both chapels have projecting buttresses and lancet windows, which include cusped and curvilinear traceried heads. The principal east and west windows of the Anglican chapel and the north window of the non-conformist chapel feature three lights with cusped heads and curvilinear tracery adorned with mouchettes. All windows are set in moulded reveals with dripmoulds above, and those on the side elevations continue as reveals with dripmoulds above, extending from the string courses. The principal east and north doors are flanked by colonnettes with moulded caps and arches, also featuring dripmoulds and ornamental bosses.