Description

BOSTON

716-1/0/10008 BOSTON CEMETERY
22-JUL-08 Former Mortuary

GV II
Former mortuary now used for storage. First built in 1855 and rebuilt in 1885. Designed by James Piggott Pritchett Junior.

MATERIALS: Built of brick, stone and slate.

PLAN: It has a rectangular plan.

EXTERIOR: This former mortuary is a small, single storey building of yellow and red bricks, on a stone capped brick plinth, with stone dressings, including stone surrounds to all openings. The bricks to the rear (west) elevation are different to those on the other elevations, which is presumably a result of the mortuary having been dismantled and rebuilt in 1885. A steeply sloping slate roof has stone coped gables on kneelers and a stone finial to the east gable. The southeast and northeast corners each have an angled buttress and there are two further buttresses, one central and one at the western end, on both the north and south elevations. There are two arched door openings, one to the east gable and one to the south elevation, with the former having a dripstone with vine and grape label stops. The door to the east gable is double thickness with vertical planks on the outside and horizontal planks on the inside, and has decorated strap hinges; the door to the south elevation is a modern replacement. There are three arched window openings, two to the north elevation and one to the south elevation, and a trefoil window opening in the upper part of each of the gables. The glass has been removed from all the windows, which are boarded up.

INTERIOR: The building is divided into two simple rooms, both of which have exposed roof timbers.

HISTORY: The Burial Board Act of 1854 authorised the setting up of burial boards outside London. In that year the newly formed Boston Burial Board agreed to create a cemetery on a twelve acre site to the north of the town. The cemetery, which was designed by James Pigott Pritchett Junior (1830-1911) of Darlington and laid out by Baker and Son of Sleaford, was opened for funerals in 1855. The original cemetery included an entrance lodge and office at its eastern end, on Horncastle Road; and two chapels, one Anglican and the other Nonconformist, which were located either side of a main avenue of lime trees. There was also the mortuary, which though located outside the cemetery, to the west, was aligned with the main avenue. The cemetery was extended to the west and south in 1885, at which time the mortuary was dismantled and rebuilt further westwards, but now on the extended main avenue and within the boundaries of the extended cemetery. The cemetery was extended again in 1928, 1940 and 1966. The Nonconformist Chapel was demolished in 1961. The mortuary is now used for storage.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
This former Mortuary is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* It is a simple but well designed building with good stone detailing;
* It is by a distinguished architect, with a large number of listed buildings to his name;
* It has group value within the designed landscape of the Grade II registered cemetery, and with the Grade II Cemetery Chapel and entrance lodge.

Reasons for Listing

The former mortuary is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* It is a simple but well designed building with good detailing;
* It is by a distinguished architect, with a large number of listed buildings to his name;
* It has group value within the designed landscape of the Grade II registered cemetery, which also contains the Grade II Cemetery Chapel and an entrance lodge, which is also being recommended for designation at Grade II.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671871

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair