LANCEFIELD Cemetery will soon have a chapel on its grounds as restorations begin on a relocated church building.
The weatherboard structure was a much-loved piece of history for its original town of Horfield. Opened in 1958, the former Uniting Church was built following concerns over the state of the previous church building.
It served the community until February 2018 before it officially closed after conducting its last service.
The church remained in the hands of private owners at Horfield, who were then to find out the Lancefield Cemetery Trust was looking for a suitable structure to use as a place for mourners to pay their respects during inclement weather.
After inspections, research and negotiation, the Trust decided it was exactly what it had been looking for and begun the process of relocating the building to the Lancefield Cemetery.
In order to fund the move, the Trust combined funds on hands and raised money from raffles and selling signature pavers. Generous donations from benefactors and families helped to reach the amount needed cover the purchase of the building and its move to Lancefield Cemetery earlier this month.
Volunteer Jenny Parks said the restorations of the building are currently underway and once complete, the chapel will become a non-denominational memorial chapel.
“We’ll restore the timber floors, and we’ll put pews in from another Church,” she said.
“There will be landscaping, it’s a restoration project really, lots of painting.”
The church’s belltower, which was transferred from the town’s first church during the 1958 build, will be restored by the Lancefield Men’s Shed.
“It’s there right now,” Mrs Parks said.
Ms Park added that the chapel will be ready to use this time next year.
Lancefield Cemetery Trust consists of nine volunteer members, who look after all aspects of running the cemetery, which services Lancefield, Romsey and the wider community.
