Description

TISBURY WARDOUR PARK
ST 92 NW (north side)

4/272 Wardour Castle Chapel

GV I

Roman Catholic parish church. 1770-76 by James Paine and Giacomo
Quarenghi, sanctuary enlarged by John Soane 1789. Limestone
ashlar, Welsh slate hipped roof. Contained within the west
pavilion of Wardour Castle (q.v.), the Soane Sanctuary projects
beyond it to the west. Entrance through 6-panelled door behind
stone wall continuing to west from front of west pavilion (see
Wardour Castle), 12-pane sash over. Sanctuary to right has apsidal
north transept with three round-arched leaded windows to ground and
first floor, lunette over. West end has 6-panelled door to left
and right with 12-pane fixed window, large blind arch and two blind
windows to recessed centre, blocking course with ball finials to
roof, lunette above altar behind. South side has transept with
same detail as north transept, 12-pane sash either side. Nave
concealed behind south front of pavilion; central Venetian window
with flanking sashes to piano nobile, rusticated basement below has
five 6-pane sashes and double glazed doors, centre bay breaks
forward, blocking course with ball finials conceals roof of Chapel.
Interior: one of the finest C18 chapel interiors outside London;
nave walls lined with Composite pilasters to frieze and modillioned
cornice, fine shallow groin vault with plaster decoration. Ritual
west end to the east has double 6-panelled doors in shallow apse
below gallery on Ionic columns. Sanctuary to the west by Soane has
fine saucer domed ceiling with gilded plaster decoration, shallow
apsed 'east' end flanked by coupled Composite columns, apsed
transepts with galleries on marble columns and wrought-iron
balustrade, semi-circular domed plaster ceilings. Fittings:
Marble altar designed by Quarenghi and made in Rome by Vinelli
1776, painting behind altar by Giuseppe Cades and lunette stained
glass above by F. Eginton in pictorial style, Sanctuary lamps by
Luigi Valadier, 1775, Rome, wrought-iron Communion rail. Fine
marble relief of Virgin and Child to left of entrance by P.E.
Monnot, 1703, originally from chapel of Jesuit-General, gilded
pedestal font with statue of St John the Baptist on cover, also
below east gallery. Marble bust on plinth in north transept of
Tenth Lord Arundell died 1834. Chapel also contains fine set of
paintings, plate and an important collection of vestments dating
from the C15 onwards.
(N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Wiltshire, 1975; Country
Life, 10 October 1968; P. Caraman, Wardour, A Short History, 1984)

Listing NGR: ST9274026966

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q96064874

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

• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5