Hidden in the Woods: Peel Mortuary Chapel, Overton‑on‑Dee

A Discovery by Chance

Sometimes you are looking for one thing and find something else wonderful.
We were looking for possible burial places for ancestors living in Overton near Wrexham and found this Chapel and cemetery hidden away in a wood.

History Carved in Stone

The Peel Mortuary Chapel and Cemetery was consecrated on 17 June 1872, built in memory of Anna Maria Peel (née Lethbridge), who died in 1860. Her husband, Edmund Peel of the Bryn y Pys estate, commissioned the chapel when he was just 24 years old. After initial interment at Overton parish church, Anna Maria’s remains were moved here with episcopal approval. Eventually the grounds were given over to the local parishioners to use as a village cemetery.

Victorian Design and Romantic Ideals

Built on a gentle rise, the chapel once looked out over the River Dee valley, before the surrounding trees grew tall. Its design reflects Victorian-era Romantic trends—the appeal of Gothic architecture and natural landscapes were fashionable in poetry, music, painting, and cemetery design. John Claudius Loudon’s guidelines for cemetery layout—such as elevation, southern aspect, and chapel as focal point—can all be seen here.

Intriguing Names: Wharton and Fitzhugh

Among the gravestones are records of:

• Joseph Wharton, who tragically drowned in Savannah, USA, at just 20 years of age.
• William Fitzhugh, described simply as a “musician and late-night poet”.

These names—unexpected and full of stories—have inspired plans for a deeper research article exploring who they were and why they ended up so far from home.

Why This Chapel Matters

The Peel Chapel isn't just another local landmark. It’s a window into Victorian grief, changing burial practices, and population pressures of the era—when sanitary conditions, industrialisation, and general mortality demanded new types of cemeteries. Many similar institutions were inspired by public health laws between 1852 and 1885.

Linda EYE on the PAST

For more tales from churchyards and historic parishes, visit our Church Visits collection.