May 19, 2023 12.00 pm This story is over 13 months old

‘Disrespectful’ plans to move Boston headstones are abandoned

Part of a chapel conversion
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Midville | Photo: Google Streetview

Plans to move up to 40 headstones at a chapel near Boston have been withdrawn after a public outcry.

Proposals would have seen the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Midville turned into an artists’ retreat.

Dozens of headstones in the nearby vicinity would have been moved to make way for a car park.

The application from east London-based Fisher Gallery attracted dozens of objections from local residents.

The planning application, which hoped to attract creatives from across the country, has now been withdrawn.

Since its closure in 2014, the chapel has fallen into a state of disrepair. It was hoped the plans to breathe new life into the site.

Permission from the Church Commissioners’ office would have been required to move the headstones.

It is unclear whether the application for the chapel will resurface in any form.

The graveyard plan | Image: East Lindsey District Council

Some of the people who had objected to the plans had personal connections with the graves.

Jennifer Crowson of Horncastle wrote to East Lindsey District Council saying: “I feel that due to a lot of these graves being under 100 years old that moving the stones is highly disrespectful.

“I have friends and family who have people buried in this cemetery whose stones will be moved to the side.”

Patrick Dennis, of Cranberry Lane, Friskney, added: “I am very disappointed at the proposed changes to the chapel and also the proposed alterations to the location of the gravestones.

“This is a disrespectful act on those buried at Midville.

Mr Dennis continued: “Moved or just propped against the wall is not befitting the lives of these departed relatives of many people in the local and wider area.

The Eastville, Midville, and New Leake Group Parish Council had also registered their objections.

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