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Summary

Site of former Salem Baptist Chapel, Town Drove, Quadring

Full description

A Salem Baptist (Particular Baptist) Chapel is depicted in this location on the 1st edition 6" Ordnance Survey County Series map of 1888. {1}

The chapel is depicted with an associated burial ground on the 2nd edition 25" Ordnance Survey County Series map of 1904. At this time, the chapel is labelled as disused. The chapel is not depicted on historic mapping published after 1950, and is thought to have been demolished at some point around 1945. {2}

A site visit to the chapel site was undertaken in the spring of 2006. The chapel had long been demolished by this time, but the graveyard remains. Photographs were taken of some of the gravestones and grave slabs.
The chapel and graveyard are thought to have been established by Francis Smith in the early 19th century. Smith was a local Baptist who separated from the rest of the Baptist community to become a Salem Baptist. He built the chapel for his family's use, and included an adjacent space to be used as a graveyard. Smith also built an open baptismal font to the west of the burial ground. The foundation date for the chapel appears to be 1814, the date provided by a lintel fragment recorded in the burial ground. A group of headstones belonging to the Smith family (including that of the founder, Francis) seem to date to the period 1844 to 1885, though earlier graves may also be present. Three grave slabs or vaults are also present; these belong to members of the Sharpe family who also formed part of this Baptist community. The latest gravestones are dedicated to sisters Theodora and Lydia Smith who died in 1940 and 1943 respectively. A number of unreadable headstones and burial mounds without headstones were also noted. {3}

In 1972, the cemetery was being cared for by the farmers who owned the adjacent farmland. There were eight marked graves and two unmarked ones. The baptistry, a deep pit approached by two steps, was still intact at this time. {4}

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1883-1888, 6 Inch County Series Map - First Edition, TF 23 SW (Map). SLI9454.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1902-07, 25 Inch County Series Map - Second Edition, TF 23 SW (Map). SLI3566.

<3> Lincolnshire County Council, 2007, Information Regarding the Former Salem Baptist Chapel and Graveyard, Town Drove, Quadring, - (Verbal Communication). SLI11294.

<4> 1972, 'Farmers' years of care for cemetery' in The Spalding Guardian, 3 Nov.1972, p.9 (Article in Serial). SLI12557.

Monument Types

• BAPTIST BURIAL GROUND (Post Medieval to Modern - 1814 AD to 2050 AD)
• BAPTISTERY (Post Medieval to Modern - 1814 AD to 2050 AD)
• PARTICULAR BAPTIST CHAPEL (Post Medieval - 1814 AD to 1900 AD?)

Associated Events

• Site Visit to the Former Salem Baptist Chapel, Town Drove, Quadring

Sources and further reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.