Historic cemetery lodge building set to be brought back into use

North East Lincolnshire Council is submitting a planning application to restore the Scartho Cemetery Lodge and bring it back into use.

Plans for the restoration of the 19th Century building will be submitted in the coming weeks.

Restoring the Scartho Cemetery Lodge, which was designed by EW Farebrother in the Gothic Revival style and completed in 1888, will remove it from the Heritage ‘At Risk’ Register.

Building work to bring the lodge and nearby waiting room back into use is expected to take between 18 months and two years.

The Scartho Cemetery Lodge and Waiting Room buildings have stood empty by the cemetery gates for about 15 years.

The nearby chapel is currently undergoing restoration and the gates were refurbished in 2019. The chapel, gates and lodge were given Grade II listed status in 1998 and are classed as being of national importance. 

Restoring the Cemetery Lodge is the final part of the transformation project for Bereavement Services. 

Cllr Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for Environment and Transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:

“We’re committed to improving our services for bereaved families and we put their interests at the core of what we do.

“Recent improvements include the Treasured Memories pet crematorium, the car park extension, the restoration of the Chapel and cemetery gates and the Reflections Tea Room in the Crematorium Lodge, which is due to open later in the summer.

“Once restored, the Cemetery Lodge will become the venue for our new Simple Funeral service.

“Simple Funerals are a relatively new concept where the Council provides a dignified yet affordable funeral service for bereaved families.

“Restoring this attractive but unused building by the cemetery gates will complete the restoration of the entrance area and bring it back to its former glory.” 

In 2018, the Council committed about £5-million of funding over a five year programme to remove eight Council-owned assets from the Heritage ‘At Risk’ Register.

Since then, the funding has helped repair and restore Grimsby Cenotaph, the Grimsby cemetery gates and Welholme Galleries, removing these assets from the Register.  

Scartho Cemetery Chapel and Lodge are the final two council-owned buildings on the register.

Cabinet members agreed in April 2021 to allocate an estimated £467,000 from the Heritage ‘At Risk’ funding to reinstate the lodge and a £206,00 to restore the waiting room and toilets opposite.