Monkesthorpe Chapel is located in Lincolnshire near Gunby Estate, and it is maintained by the National Trust and an important religious site. Visitors who wish to see the interior of the chapel must ask the National Trust volunteers in the Gunby car park for the key and then return it. Monkesthorpe Chapel is a Baptist chapel, and it was built in 1701 but refurbished in the mid-1800s. The interior retains the mid-1800s style.
The chapel appears to be a farmyard barn to conceal it since Baptists were not permitted to worship at this time. The first Baptist church was locatd in Spitalfields in London in 1612, and this religion spread to Lincolnshire in the mid-1600s. Before the building was constructed, they met in the open air underneath a tree to listen but kept watch.
Near the entrance to the chapel is a war memorial. This memorial is for a 1944 accident involving a bomb exploding as it was being loaded into a Lancaster bomber. All of the men were killed.
A field next to the chapel contained red cattle, and this isn't a type of cow that I see often. Apparently they are a breed known as Lincolnshire Red. As usual, they were curious and came up to me.
I had a quick look around the buildings, and the ones at the closest point were not open but held some information panels inside the window.
I was able to look inside the chapl, and it had a central room heater on tiled floor and a balcony area.
There is also a graveyard.
This is a peaceful setting with a lot of local history and an interesting chapel disguised.
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