Bradenstoke chapel hunts for graveyard relatives before sale

Members of a soon-to-close Methodist chapel are trying to find families of people buried in its graveyard.

Bradenstoke Methodist Chapel near Lyneham, Wiltshire, is being sold off because of dwindling attendances.

As part of the sale, some of the graves will be "relocated" to create access for the building's new owners.

The Reverend David Gray said they are keen to let families know about their plans so they are not shocked when the gravestones are moved.

"The congregation for a number of years has been worshipping in a hall which is adjacent to the chapel," he added.

"There are one or two folk that we just have no records of. We just would be keen to find out if anybody knows anything about these graves so we can just involve them in what we're doing really."

Reverend Grey said it was "unusual" for a Methodist chapel to sit in a graveyard, and there were several graves at the front - mainly from the 1950s - which needed to be moved to the rear of the building.

The graves at the back of the chapel, which are much more recent, plus the moved ones, will be maintained nationally by the Methodist Church and the area will become a memorial garden, he added.

Access to the garden and the graves will be maintained for relatives after the building's sale so they can visit.

Reverend Grey said the chapel, which was opened in the 1880s, will be sold "in the Autumn" at the earliest.