PETERSFIELD. —That portion of the Cemetery which is set apart for burials according to the rites of the Church of England, was consecrated on Monday last by the Bishop of Winchester. His lordship was met at the entrance to the ground by the clergy, churchwardens, and members of the Burial Board, and escorted to the chapel, where the petition for consecration was presented by the Incumbent, after which the religious service appointed for the occasion was read by the Bishop, and a Psalm (xxxix), was sung by the children of the National Schools, of whom there were present 126 boys and 97 girls. The weather was tolerably fine, and there were from 500 to 600 persons present. The site is universally admired as one of the most beautiful in the neighbourhood, and the laying out of the ground and its appropriate decoration with shrubs and evergreens, reflects great credit on the taste and judgment of the Burial Board. The chapel, together with that of the Nonconformists, was erected by our townsmen, Messrs. Minchin and Wetherspoon, from the design and under the direction of Mr. J. Colson, architect, of Winchester.
The chapels are detached, and are in that style of Gothic architecture usually called “Decorated.” The plan of each chapel is that of a regular octagon, with retiring room and porch to each; the walls are of flint, with windows, doorways, and other dressings, of Caen stone; the roofs are covered with tiles. The consecrated chapel is surmounted by an elegant bell turret, with lofty shingle spire and cross; and that for the Nonconformists by vane only. The interior of the roofs is of simple but chaste design, having arched ribs springing from each angle of the octagon, converging to a carved pendant over the centre of the pavement. Each chapel is furnished with an appropriate revolving bier; the wood work is stained oak and varnished, the reading desks are carved; the pavements are of red and blue tiles. There is a wall, with a very picturesque covering executed in iron work, from an example on the Continent. The entrance gates are of iron, with massive stone piers. The cost of the buildings has been about £800.
On the previous evening (Sunday) the Rev. M. A Smelt preached a most impressive sermon on the closing of the ancient church-yard, with all its hallowed associations, and the opening of the new burial ground out of the town, from Gen. xxxiii. 17,18, coupled with Rev. xiv. 13.
(See also
07-Nov-1857
25-Apr-1857)