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Summary

A medieval butter cross which was adapted to use as a dovecote, probably in the 17th or 18th century. Now used as the village hall.

Full description

The medieval butter cross at Burwell is thought to date to the 13th century, when the right to hold a market within the town was granted. The structure was at one time converted to a dovecote and is now in use as the village hall. In date it appears to be a 17th or 18th century remodelling of the original open-sided structure. {1}{2}{3}

The Butter Cross was largely constructed of red brick in about 1700 and was altered in the mid 19th and 20th centuries. It has an octagonal slate roof with chevroned brick eaves and a plain octagonal cupola. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {4}

It is known that the Primitive Methodists rented a chapel in Burwell from about 1879 (or earlier), and it is believed that the building they used was the octagonal Butter Cross. They rented the building until 1914 although it is thought that it ceased to be used as a chapel in about 1910. {5}

William Hornsby, the Grantham industrialist, purchased the Burwell Hall estate from the Listers in 1883. It was William Hornsby, when he lived at Burwell Hall, who had a conical roof put on the octagonal Butter Cross so that the Primitive Methodists could hold services there. The use of the building as a chapel probably, therefore, dates to after 1883. {6}{7}

The building was for sale in mid 2017. The building is a single octagonal cell of 54.25 square metres and there is a memorial plaque that states that the property was given to the Parish of Burwell by Mildred Beatrice Dennis of Frampton Hall Co. Lincoln on the 8 September 1958. {8}

<1> Lincolnshire County Council, Sites and Monuments Record Card Index, TF 37 NE: AE (Index). SLI2881.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Card Index, TF 37 NE: 10 (Index). SLI2344.

<3> Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram, 1989, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition), p.202 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1062.

<4> Department of the Environment, 1987, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 8/9 (Index). SLI7677.

<5> Shepherdson, C., 2010, A List and Brief Details of Chapels in the Louth Circuit, Past and Present, Burwell PM (Bibliographic Reference). SLI14408.

<6> Rev. Henry Lyttleton Lyster Denny, 1913, Memorials of an Ancient House. A History of the Family of Lister or Lyster, p.241 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI15917.

<7> Robinson, David, April 1967, 'Poachings' in Lincolnshire Life Magazine, vol.7, no.2, pp.34-35 (Article in Serial). SLI15923.

<8> Robert Bell and Company, 2017, Sale Particulars for Burwell Butter Cross, - (Unpublished Document). SLI15925.

Monument Types

• MARKET CROSS (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1200 AD to 1600 AD?)
• DOVECOTE (Post Medieval - 1601 AD? to 1850 AD?)
• PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL (Post Medieval to Edwardian - 1883 AD? to 1910 AD?)
• VILLAGE HALL (First World War to 21st Century - 1914 AD? to 2016 AD?)

Protected Status

• Listed Building

Sources and further reading

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