This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print.
The Mill Street Chapel was started in 1829 by a group of Nonconformists who had broken away from the Union Chapel, Clemens Street, and who needed a home where they could continue to use part of the Liturgy of the Church of England, an issue which led some Nonconformist ministers to join the Anglican Church.
The Gothic-styled chapel, designed by Samuel Nicklin, was built to seat a potential congregation of 350 by John Toone on the site of Richard Court’s old farm at the eastern corner of George Street and Leam Terrace. It was considered an elegant structure at the time.
There were two side aisles; at the east end, a large window of stained glass, and at the west, a gallery for the singers and Sunday School children. In later years this held the organ. The chapel was still only partially completed when it was sold to Rev. Rowland Hill, national leader of those Nonconformists who wished to retain the use of the Liturgy. Rowland Hill completed the building and added a manse and a school. As owner of the Chapel, he sought to have the Liturgy adopted and continued unaltered for as long as such services lawfully formed part of the Church of England. A plaque placed in the Chapel made this abundantly clear. Hill placed the chapel in the hands of Homerton Academy, Hackney, which had been formed for the promotion of Calvinism and which in 1840 became a college of the new University of London.
A year later, the chapel was presented to Lady Huntingdon’s Connexion, a Calvinistic movement within the Methodist Church. As Lady Huntingdon’s Chapel, it became a popular place of worship. From 1859, for the twenty years of his ministry, the Rev. W H Sisterson held Sunday afternoon services for poorer families at the public hall in Windsor Street. By 1880 the congregation had dwindled and in 1885 the Trustees of the College proposed to sell the properties but there were objections from those who had relatives buried in the adjoining little cemetery. The Charity Commissioners permitted the sale of the chapel, manse and school, but not the burial ground.
William Flavel, who invented the famous Flavel “Leamington Kitchener” cooking range, died in 1844 and was buried in the chapel burial ground. His gravestone is on the right-hand side near to the bottom of the graveyard. In 1936 Percival William Flavel, the then Chairman and Managing Director of the Flavel Company, preserved the burial ground and paid a sum of money to the local authority to assist in its upkeep. On the far wall of the burial ground, a plaque reading “To their memory this burial ground is now preserved” commemorates William and John Flavel, his father.
The Chapel had a series of owners after being sold at auction in 1887. It was first conveyed to Edwin T. Gamage, who renovated the chapel for use by the Presbyterians. In 1897, the property was acquired by a Vicar of All Saints Church, for use as a Parish Room, and later, the Parish Church Men’s Club. The chapel and manse were demolished in 1902 and Urquhart Hall built for use as the church hall. Along with its theology courses, Homerton College transferred ownership of the whole site to New College London in 1936. After World War Two, the building was also used by Bath Place School as classrooms for the older children. Musical events, concerts and prize-givings were held there. The subsequent purchase of Urquhart Hall for a meeting place for the Sikh community resulted in the request for the use of the burial ground as car park or a sitting-out area for elderly groups. The request for a car park was refused, but a sitting-out area was deemed possible on condition that it was not used for any public events. The Council was advised that consent for a sitting-out area would need to be sought from the New College Foundation and, as a courtesy, from the Vicar of the Parish Church and the Flavel family.
In 1992 New College failed to reach agreement over its sale to Warwick District Council and responded with an application to build a modest office block on the site, despite advice that it was likely to fail. An appeal lodged with the Environment Secretary was unsuccessful, and at a public enquiry, Warwick District Council undertook to maintain the site without taking ownership of the land. Following the 1992 application, the Coventry Evening Telegraph commented “… the spot remains a quiet haven near the bustling centre of Leamington which residents and councillors were anxious to preserve.” Maybe some person or group will come forward to preserve the burial ground as a garden haven; another little green lung for Leamington.
Barry Franklin, 2018
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS are presented at the end of this page — https://leamingtonhistory.co.uk/articles-from-royal-leamington-spa-a-history-in-100-buildings/