Interesting IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOMAS WHITTY 1713 - 1792 IN 1755 HE FOUNDED THE AXMINSTER CARPET INDUSTRY HE WAS LAID TO REST IN THIS CHURCHYARD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH The first chapel of the Axminster Independent Church (later the Congregational Church, now the United Reformed Church) was built in 1698. At one time with a thatched roof, long since replaced by slates, it stands beside a larger church built in 1828 and is now used as the Church Hall. Thomas Whitty, founder of the Axminster Carpet Industry, is commemorated by a plaque on the building and is buried in the little graveyard.