Burial Ground Walls Including Six C18 Headstones

The burial ground walls at Five Ashes, including six 18th-century headstones, are located on Ham Hill Road in Odcombe. The walls were constructed in 1868 and enclose an earlier burial ground that is believed to have been established in 1606, with extensions added in 1774 and 1809. The walls are made of coursed limestone rubble with rubble capping and form a large rectangular enclosure. There is a pedestrian gateway on the southeast side, featuring a moulded stone frame and later iron gates. At the north end of the cemetery, there are six 18th-century headstones with shaped heads, three of which have angels carved in relief at the top. These headstones are the earliest gravestones in the cemetery. Although the Baptist burial ground at Five Ashes is said to have been established in 1606, the first recorded burial took place in 1720. The site is situated in an isolated location, some distance to the northwest of the village of Odcombe, and represents an interesting early example of a Baptist cemetery with some of its first gravestones.