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Summary

Non-conformist meeting house and burial ground established near Gulliford in the late 17th century. A new building was erected in 1774 after the original chapel was attacked by a mob. The congregation dwindled during the course of the 19th century, after a new site was obtained in the village. The chapel was demolished in 1907. The cemetery was restored in 1996.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1333256: GULLIFORD MEETING BURIAL GROUND PERIMETER WALL AND 3 TOMB CHESTS TO JERVIS, LEE AND STOGDON

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1486346
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX98SE/25
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 88572

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CEMETERY (Established, XVII - 1601 AD to 1700 AD)
• UNITARIAN CHAPEL (Demolished, Edwardian - 1907 AD to 1907 AD)

Full description

Woodbury + Lympstone Parish Councils, Gulliford Meeting and Burial Ground: A restoration project (Report - non-specific). SDV121847.

Leasehold transferred to Woodbury and Lympstone Parish Councils in 1993. Restoration work proposed.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Unitarian Chapel and 'Burial Ground' shown on 19th century map as a semi-circular enclosure with a rectangular building in the centre with two small extensions on the north-east corner of it. A narrow rectangular building is shown in the southern end of the enclosure.

Reichel, O. J., 1895, Hulham Manor, 419 (Article in Serial). SDV349606.

Gulliford Chapel on Exmouth Road.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Unitarian Chapel (Disused)' and 'Burl.Gd.(Dis.)' shown on early 20th century map. Map object based on this Source.

Wilson-Holman, H., 1908-1909, Mr Manning of Exeter, 66 (Article in Serial). SDV121855.

Other details: Visited in 1907.

Scott, E., 1956, Lympstone: A Village Story, 117 (Article in Serial). SDV121845.

The site of an old meeting house near Gulliford. The graveyard of the Presbyterian chapel is where old Parsonage Stile Lane crosses the Exeter-Exmouth Turnpike road. The chapel was established under the Toleration Act of 1689, and was abandoned for a site in the village in 1820.

Keep, D. J., 1976, Dissent in Woodbury and Lympstone (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV121859.

Other details: Religious Studies Dept, Rolle College, Exmouth.

Keep, D. J., 1977, Nonconformity in Woodbury and Lympstone, 51-7 (Article in Serial). SDV121846.

There are several interesting memorial stones in the burial ground, some of them armorial, and possibly belonging to the family of Walrond. Gulliford meeting house was one of the earliest dissenting chapels in the district. Foundation deed for the building in 1689. A new building was erected in 1774, and it is now possible to identify the site of the first building. In 1821, another site was obtained in the village, while a dwindling congregation continued at Gulliford. The chapel was pulled down in 1907.

Child, P., 1996, Gulliford burial ground (Ground Photograph). SDV365570.

Morgan, D., 1996, Reallocated Grant Monies - Historic Buildings Grants Budget (Correspondence). SDV354406.

Proposals have been received for the clearing and refurbishing of this charming and locally distinctive graveyard on the periphery of the Parish of Lympstone. The graveyard and a number of late 18th and early 19th century chest tombs are Grade II listed structures that are in need of careful conservation and repair.

Department of Environment, 1996, Woodbury, 40 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV121858.

Founded shortly after the passing of the act of uniformity in 1685. Burial ground bounded by perimeter wall, partly of random rubble limestone and partly of brick and entered from Meeting Lane through gates (now damaged) with square profile-stone piers surmounted by ball caps, one lying on the ground. Of the many tombstones in various stages of decay, the following are notable:
(a) tomb chest to Sarah Jervis, d1777, square in plan with stone framed slate panels, moulded plinth and cornice, with obelisk and moulded base, bearing a crown. Rev J Jervis (d1820) is also commemorated on this tomb and this may be the date of the monument.
(b) tomb chest to T H Lee, d1822, badly damaged at time of resurvey visit (May 1985), side panels missing, oval slate panels to each end bearing memorial inscription; moulded plinth and moulded cornice bearing debased triglyphs.
(c) tomb chest to Abraham Stogdon, d1769, but possibly dating from 1879. Square in plan, moulded plinth, inscription panels and moulded pyramidal cap.
The chapel that was in existence in 1692 when it was attacked by a mob and was replaced in the 18C by one sited towards the north of the site and the Meeting, which was one of the earliest in Devon, gradually declined after the early years of the 19C.

Unknown, 1998, Cemetery Layout Phase Two (Plan - measured). SDV346786.

English Heritage, 2010, Historic Houses Register (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV154869.

Gulliford Meeting Burial Ground Perimeter Wall and three Tomb Chests Listed on 21st April 1986.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

Map object based on this Source.

Devon Gardens Trust, 2013, Devon Gazetteer of Parks and Gardens of Local Interest (Reg/Local list of Historic Parks and Gdns). SDV354335.

Keep, C. + Clark, J., 2013, Gulliford Burial Ground (Un-published). SDV357587.

A plot of land was leased from Thomas Lee of Gulliford, yeoman of Woodbury, and the first Chapel was built by 1692 in the corner of a field called the “Crosse Park”. By 1907 the chapel was so derelict, the Trustees decided to demolish it. After years of neglect and decay, the Gulliford Burial Ground was made a listed Grade II Monument in 1986, and Lympstone and Woodbury Parish Councils became responsible for its restoration and upkeep. The project to restore the cemetery began in September 1996, the re-opening took place on 31st May 1997.

Pink, F., 2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment (Interpretation). SDV357736.

Coles, A., 2019, Gulliford Burial Ground (Ground Photograph). SDV362990.

Photos of burial ground.

Coles, A., 2019, Gulliford Chapel (Correspondence). SDV362975.

The chapel was still in use in 1888 with the last headstone bearing that date.

Woodbury & Lympstone Parish Councils, Undated, Gulliford Meeting and Burial Ground. A Restoration Project (Un-published). SDV358397.

Smith, R., Undated, Unitarian Graveyard (Worksheet). SDV322694.

The Rev D Keep related that the chapel at Gulliford was so prosperous under Jervis that a second site was obtained in the village of Lympstone where the house called Ellenthorpe now stands in the early 19th century.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV121845	Article in Serial: Scott, E.. 1956. Lympstone: A Village Story. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 88. A5 Hardback. 117.
SDV121846	Article in Serial: Keep, D. J.. 1977. Nonconformity in Woodbury and Lympstone. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 109. A5 Hardback. 51-7.
SDV121847	Report - non-specific: Woodbury + Lympstone Parish Councils. Gulliford Meeting and Burial Ground: A restoration project.
SDV121855	Article in Serial: Wilson-Holman, H.. 1908-1909. Mr Manning of Exeter. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries. 5. 66.
SDV121858	List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest: Department of Environment. 1996. Woodbury. Historic Houses Register. A4 Bound. 40.
SDV121859	Undergraduate Dissertation: Keep, D. J.. 1976. Dissent in Woodbury and Lympstone. Unknown.
SDV154869	List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest: English Heritage. 2010. Historic Houses Register. Historic Houses Register. Website.
SDV322694	Worksheet: Smith, R.. Undated. Unitarian Graveyard. Worksheet + Digital.
SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV344030	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2010. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey. Map (Digital). [Mapped feature: #62111 ]
SDV346786	Plan - measured: Unknown. 1998. Cemetery Layout Phase Two. Lethigo Landscape Architects & Environmental Planners Plan. A2 Folded + Digital.
SDV349606	Article in Serial: Reichel, O. J.. 1895. Hulham Manor. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 27. A5 Hardback. 419.
SDV354335	Reg/Local list of Historic Parks and Gdns: Devon Gardens Trust. 2013. Devon Gazetteer of Parks and Gardens of Local Interest. Historic Parks and Gardens - Register and Local List. Digital.
SDV354406	Correspondence: Morgan, D.. 1996. Reallocated Grant Monies - Historic Buildings Grants Budget. Applications to DCC Historic Buildings Grants Budget. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV357587	Un-published: Keep, C. + Clark, J.. 2013. Gulliford Burial Ground. Devon Local Register of Parks and Gardens of Local Historic Interest. Digital.
SDV357736	Interpretation: Pink, F.. 2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment. AC Archaeology Report. ACD618/4/3. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV358397	Un-published: Woodbury & Lympstone Parish Councils. Undated. Gulliford Meeting and Burial Ground. A Restoration Project. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV362975	Correspondence: Coles, A.. 2019. Gulliford Chapel. Heritage Gateway feedback about Monument ID: MDV10264. Email.
SDV362990	Ground Photograph: Coles, A.. 2019. Gulliford Burial Ground. Digital.
	Linked images:2
SDV365570	Ground Photograph: Child, P.. 1996. Gulliford burial ground. Devon County Council Historic Buildings Photo. Photograph (Paper) + Digital.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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