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Salem Chapel,
Little Compton, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Chapel did NOT have a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded before 1881, but we understand it was closed by 1974.

Salem Chapel was first noted on Old Maps of 1881-1886, and its location is still marked with a '+' on my OS Landranger Map of 1979. In the present day, although it is in private occupation, it has retained a 'chapel like' appearance. It has a central porch, on either side of which are tall round-arched windows, with internal round-arched glazing. The sides are of 2 bays and appear to have similar windows, as do the sides of the porch, which also has a semi-circular light above the doorway. There is a 'wheel' windows between the two windows in each of the sides, and above the porch, set into the gable, is a circular clock. Above this, a finial at the apex in the form of a very tiny turret, topped with an equally tiny "spire".

Not unexpectedly, it is today in private occupation - the following notice published in The London Gazette of 16th August 1994 (p.11670) indicates its closure:

The Registrar General, being satisfied that [...] and SALEM CHAPEL, Little Compton in the registration district of South Warwickshire, in the Non-Metropolitan County of Warwickshire are no longer used as places of worship by the congregations on whose behalf they were registered for marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act 1836, has cancelled the registrations. Dated 8th August 1994.

Its original registration for marriages was on 1st October 1888, notified in the Gazette of 19th October 1888 (p.5708).

Note: Little Compton was transferred from Gloucestershire to Warwickshire by the "Counties (Detached Parts)" Act of 1844. At the time of the Religious Census of 1851, it was in the registration district of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire (HO 129/162), however neither Salem, nor the Independent Chapel which existed in Little Compton, appear to have been recorded.

Denomination

Now or formerly Particular Baptist.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Chapel was located at OS grid reference SP2592330185. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Salem Chapel, Little Compton shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Little Compton shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Little Compton, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Notices of Civil Registration of Places of Worship for marriages are published in the London edition of The Gazette. Hint: search for registrations from 1998 by choosing 'Church' notices, and the option 'Registration for solemnising marriage'. (verified 2018-12-11)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.