History

Former Wesleyan chapel of 1818 enlarged in 1835 and altered in 1880-1. Haverfordwest was a regular place of preaching for John Wesley, first visiting in 1763. The first chapel was built in 1772, and Wesley called the new chapel 'far the neatest in Wales'. By 1781 there were 60 members in the town, the largest congregation in the Pembrokeshire Circuit. The chapel was rebuilt in 1818 for the then exceptional sum of £1800 to seat 8-900 people. It was enlarged to 71x42 feet in 1835 with an end gallery over a schoolroom. Vestries were added on the N then or shortly after. The freehold of the site was bought in 1849. In 1859 the inner lobby was rebuilt, a new communion rail fitted and new pulpit stairs. A new schoolroom was built (listed separately) to the N in 1874 by D.E. Thomas for £800. The same architect remodelled the chapel in 1880-1 refitting the interior and possibly adding some stucco ornament to the outside. In 1910-11 the vestries on the N were replaced by a two-storey building in matching style by Henry Budgen of Cardiff for £1195. The chapel closed in 1985 and the interior was stripped for use as an antiques showroom. A photograph of c. 1900 shows that there were steps up to the two doors with iron railings, and curving railings to the basement. The glazing bars have been simplified in all the windows.

Exterior

Former chapel, painted stucco with hipped slate roof. Two storey, three bay front raised on a basement, with arch-headed windows and doors. Stucco plinth, outer giant pilasters and raised narrow centre, with entablature and cornice broken forward over centre and top parapet with panelled blocks over pilasters and a shallow-gabled block over the centre with plaque 'Wesleyan Chapel'. Three upper windows with small-paned glazing and marginal glazing bars and a larger similar window to ground floor centre, all in later C19 surrounds with pilasters, moulded arches, keystones and sill brackets. Two doors in later C19 stucco doorcases with moulded architraves broken for widely separated quoins, keystone, and cornice on long console brackets, the cornices with coved stops. Complex radiating-bar fanlights over plain doors. Right side wall to Chapel Lane is unpainted stucco, two-storey, with arched windows, four above and three below (no window in third bay), all with earlier C19 Gothic intersecting glazing bars. Slate sills. Red brick right end chimney.
Attached to the left side is the lower two-storey 1910 extension of three bays with hipped roof behind cornice and parapet. Three arched upper windows with radiating bars in heads in stucco surrounds with keystones and two square headed 6-pane ground floor windows with long keystones under open pediments, broad door in left bay with head at lower level, in surround with similar keystone and open pediment.

Interior

The chapel interior has been stripped of fittings. It had a gallery on wooden Ionic columns and a rich pulpit with concave sides and fluted pilasters.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special architectural interest as a large and prominent chapel with simplified classical facade.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29490472

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.

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