Methodist Church, The Square, Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire

Summary

A Methodist Church designed by G E Withers in 1909 in a free Gothic style.

Description

An early- C20 Methodist Church in a free Gothic style.

MATERIALS: the building is of buff-coloured brick in English bond with Bath stone dressings and plain tile roofs.

PLAN: the building is oriented from north-east to south-west and is roughly cruciform with a wide nave, with an offset tower to the north-east corner.

EXTERIOR: the building is in a free Gothic style throughout.

The entrance to the eastern end is flanked by a squat north east tower with embattled corner piers and a south east tower with diagonal buttresses and an octagonal belfry steeple above. The east end has a large five-light window with reticulated tracery, moulded four-centred arch and flanking four-centred arch lancets with buttresses rising between. The north and south elevations have gabled transepts and reticulated tracery in cambered arches.

INTERIOR: there is an open timber roof structure.

The interior contains its complete original set of pitch-pine furnishings including galleries with tiered bench seating and benches in the transepts, aisles and nave. The walls are plastered. There is a four- centred domed arch above the “high” end containing an organ loft and beneath it a rostrum and communion rail. Lancet windows containing commemorative stained glass flank the organ.

The transepts have four-bay four-centred arch arcades with slender polygonal piers with foliated capitals. The gallery cuts through the arcades and is curved around the east end.

History

Dunstable town was historically focused upon the intersection of two ancient routes, the Neolithic Icknield Way, running from east to west, and the Roman Watling Street, running from north to south. The crossroad remains a dominant feature in topography of the town. Dunstable has Roman origins, known as Durocobrivis, centred on the crossroads, which appears to have been abandoned at the end of the Roman period. The town was later re-established in the early C12 by Henry I, centred on the royal lodge of Kingsbury and the Augustinian Priory founded in 1131, dissolved in 1540. A market was established in the wide streets and marketplace, where permanent buildings began to encroach to form Middle Row, possibly from the early C13 onwards. The town continued to prosper as a market town in the post-Medieval period, and also as a significant staging post for coaches travelling along Watling Street. The C19 saw the arrival of the railway, new municipal buildings, and the development of the backland with new terraced housing and small industrial premises, notably hat-making. The C20 saw the growth of the town as an engineering centre. Residential expansion continued apace, with associated provision for schools, churches, and other public buildings.

The C20 Methodist Church is built on the site of an earlier building: a chapel which was burned down in 1908. Late-C19 mapping shows the footprint of the previous building which was set further back from the Square. G E Withers of Withers and Meredith, a specialist in the design of non-conformist churches, having designed Bushey and Oxhey Methodist Church in 1905, was commissioned to design the replacement building. It opened in 1909 and the organ was installed in 1910. It was listed in 1976 with the following description: "Methodist church. 1909 by G E Withers of Withers and Meredith. Buff-coloured brick in English bond with Bath stone dressings. Plain tile roofs. Plan: Nave, galleried north and south aisles, the gallery continued around east end. Rostrum at west end, with gallery behind, in west 'chancel'. North and south transepts. South east tower and squat north east tower flanking east entrance, both towers containing stairs to gallery. Free Gothic style. East end has large 5-light window with reticulated tracery, moulded 4-centred arch and flanking 4-centred arch lancets with buttresses rising between. Stone portal projects with 2 depressed 2-centred arches and buttresses projecting above the panelled parapet. To right (NE) squat tower with embattled corner piers and to left (SE) tall main tower has diagonal buttresses projecting into parapet which is broken on each side by tall stone-framed lancets; octagonal belfry above with buttresses rising from the tower lancets below up into the stone spire above. North and south elevations have gabled transepts and reticulated tracery in cambered arches. Interior: Unaltered interior with intact pitch-pine furnishings. Plastered walls. 4-centred domed arch and 4-bay 4-centred arch arcades with slender polygonal piers with foliated capitals. Gallery cutting through the arcades is curved around east end and another gallery, its 'chancel' contains organ at back and rostrum in front complete with communion rail. Benches in galleries, transepts, aisles and nave are complete. Open timber roof structure. Stained glass memorial windows in lancets flanking organ in west end. Source: Buildings of England, Bedfordshire."

Reasons for Listing

The Methodist Church, The Square, Dunstable, designed by G E Withers and built in 1909 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an illustration of the importance of Methodist worship in Dunstable in the early C20.

Architectural interest:

* for the quality of the design in a free Gothic style by G E Withers of Withers and Meredith;
* for the completeness of the interior fittings including gallery, bench pews and rostrum.

External Links

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