Description

ILMINSTER

ST3614 EAST STREET
1939-1/7/58 (South side)
23/09/50 Unitarian Church and attached
schoolhouse to the north

GV II*

Church and schoolhouse. 1718-19; widened to east in mid C18 to
provide a gallery; in 1846 a schoolroom was built against east
wall and extended in 1907; front of chapel partly rebuilt in
1851, interior refitted and reorientated in 1894 and further
alterations made in 1913, including the addition of an organ
chamber at north end.
Squared Ham Hill stone with ashlar dressings and
stepped-forward gable to west front, rough ashlar to the rest;
slate roofs, double-pitch to main block. Double-depth plan
facing west with extensions to north and south.
Single storey; symmetrical 2-window west front: central gable,
stepped slightly forward, has an obelisk finial surmounting a
pediment with moulded cornice and a slit window with 4-centred
arch to tympanum; below are 2 large 4-centred-arched
stained-glass windows under hoodmoulds, now boarded-up.
Original C18 doors with 4 vertical-panels under 4-centred
arches flank the projecting bay; stone doorcases have open
pediments with obelisk finials supported by Tuscan-style
pilasters. A mid C19 single-storey brick wing is attached to
the south-east corner.
The schoolroom facade to the north, facing East Street, has 2
gables with obelisk finials and stone copings, that to the
rear (east) being wider and lower, with a 2-light window
between them to left of centre. Attached to the centre of the
left-hand gable end, below a slit window, is a lower
gable-ended projection with a second slit window above a
recessed plaque bearing the dates 1718 and 1913, both under
labelled hoodmoulds; there is a tall boarded-up window to the
east return.
Attached to the centre of the easterly gable end is gabled
porch with a 2-light window facing the street (north), and a
door to the right return (south). A larger 3-light window in
the main building is set close to the left of the porch. All
exposed windows have margin-panes and labelled hoodmoulds.
INTERIOR: not accessible, but noted as having late C19 pews,
gallery and fittings. Mid C18 piers with square moulded
capitals supporting truss ends and gallery to original east
wall. Plaster barrel-vaulted ceiling to schoolroom. C18 and
C19 memorials.
HISTORY: the Presbyterian society originated in the late C17,
but was much depleted in numbers by the late C18: it has since
had a Unitarian ministry.

Listing NGR: ST3631114548

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17554665

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability