Description

CREWKERNE

ST4409 HERMITAGE STREET 876-1/7/87 (East side) 06/09/74 Unitarian Chapel and attached walls, railings and gates

GV II

Unitarian chapel. 1733, re-roofed and renewed 1811 and further altered 1900. MATERIALS: coursed limestone rubble with Ham Hill stone dressings and coping to slate roof with ceramic ridge-tiles. EXTERIOR: Street facade, facing west, has a truncated gable remodelled in 1900; high above central double doors under a plain lintel and datestone, is a semi-circular lunette window with leaded lights; it has 2 stone mullions and a dripmould. Flanking the door are 2 tall round-arched windows with dripmoulds, a central mullion and a transom at springer-level. These may well be those of the year when the chapel was built (Pevsner). The right return has a wider but similar 3-light window to the right, and a plain 2-light mullioned window at eaves-level to the left. Similar 3-light window to left return wall. A rear wing of 1900 projects to the right; it has a truncated gable and a similar C18 reset 3-light window to its south end and a tall cross-window on its left reveal, facing the street (west). A large stone urn stands on the gable of the rear wing. INTERIOR not inspected but noted as having been remodelled in C19, with fine stained glass window of 1893, clock of 1782 by Thomas Cottell and C18/C19 memorials to Blake family including Pastor William Blake (1754-99) and marble tablet dated 1835 to Fitchett family, signed Payne of Beaminster. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: limestone rubble walls enclose a front garden and a strip to right. These are attached to the south-east corner of No.19A (qv), to the left, and higher ones sweep up Pullman's lane to the right, and are attached to the rear right wing. The front walls have plinth-capping with spiked railings and urn finials, and similar double gates to steps up to the door; the side walls have curved Ham Hill stone coping. HISTORY: chapel was first built in 1733. The schools are claimed to have been founded by Mr.Raikes in 1788 and were among the oldest in the West of England. In 1811 considerable repairs were effected including a new roof and pews at an expense of upwards of »400. (McLachlan HJ (ed): The Unitarian Heritage: Sheffield: 1986-: P.29; Pulman GPR: The Book of the Axe: Kingsmead Reprints Bath: 1875-1969: P327-331 & FOOTNOTE; Stell C: Non-Conformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in SW England: London: 1991-: P.172; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: South and West Somerset: London: 1958-: P.139-40).

Listing NGR: ST4412409512

External Links

• Wikidata Q26570929

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Recommended Books

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
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  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
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  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
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  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Old House Care and Repair
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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability