A new use for the former Crematorium Chapels building

7 January 2026

MEP is delighted to have secured Listed Building Consent for the conversion of existing Crematorium Chapels and associated rooms to a Cafe, Wake Function Rooms and associated support spaces.

The chapel is a Grade II Listed building located within Bouncers Lane Cemetery, which is itself a Grade II Listed park and garden.

The buildings, which have been redundant since 2019 following the construction of a new crematorium on the site, are now in a state of deterioration due to their vacant state. The approved scheme involves returning the Grade II listed building back into a sustainable future use; a private wake facility and a public café. The North and South Chapels will be used as private wake facilities, maintaining their traditional function as spaces of remembrance. The later reception/waiting room will be converted into a public café with a small kitchen and service counter. The existing toilets will be retiled and redecorated.

The Old Chapels (north and south) were designed in the Gothic style between 1862-1864, comprising two mortuary chapels liked by a porte-cochere and central tower.

The new use represents a sensitive, appropriate and well justified reuse of the Old Chapels and associated reception room. It will create a sustainable use for the redundant building and address conservation and amelioration works.