Two Cemetery Chapels, Cheltenham Cemetery

The Two Cemetery Chapels at Cheltenham Cemetery were built around 1864 by architect W.H. Knight, with construction by Messers Billing and Sons. The chapels are made of coursed rough-faced rubble with ashlar dressings and feature hard glazed tiles with fishscale bands on the roofs, along with weathered coping and cross finials.

The Anglican and Non-Conformist chapels are arranged in a symmetrical layout, connected by 3-bay link blocks and a central entrance highlighted by a two-stage tower topped with a stone spire. The design is in the Decorated Gothic style, featuring carved steps, strings, and a large 4-light geometric window with a spherical triangle above. The link passages are set one bay back and include central bayed breaks with 2-light windows that have quatrefoils above. The tower is supported by diagonal buttresses and has an arcaded belfry stage, while the broach spire includes arched vents with lucarnes and canopied pedestals at the corners.

Each chapel has four bays with gablets above foiled oculi over the windows, and the outer sides have projecting gabled porches with plank doors in trefoil-headed openings. The interior retains original joinery and plasterwork, although it was not fully inspected.

Historically, Knight won the competition for the cemetery in 1862, and despite some mid-20th century additions to the rear, these chapels are recognized as the finest Victorian cemetery chapel in England, enhanced by their parkland setting.