Spalding Cemetery was established in 1854 by the town's Improvement Commissioners, at a cost of about £4500. It originally consisted of about 6 acres, with a keepers lodge (see MLI125653), entrance gateway (see MLI125652) and two chapels. The Anglican chapel (see MLI125649) and half the ground was consecrated by the Bishop in November 1854, with the other part of the cemetery and the second chapel being for the use of nonconformists (see MLI97743). {1}{2} Overcrowded conditions at the original church burial ground within Spalding had prompted increasing calls for a new burial ground to be established within the town. Residents in the neighbourhood of the church complained in 1851 about the overcrowding and exposure of dismembered bodies and smell coming from the churchyard, resulting in an official visit by a government inspector to report on the situation. The site for the cemetery off Pinchbeck Road was chosen in 1852, following investigations about other sites which were found to be waterlogged and unsuitable. {3} The original area of the cemetery (6 acres) was expanded northwards at least two times during the first half of the 20th century, as is visible on later Ordnance Survey mapping. {4}