History

Baptist chapel of 1904-5 by W. Beddoe Rees, converted to flats since listing in 1999. First chapel of iron and wood was built in 1883 for £350, new chapel 1884 to designs by Mr Clarke of Swansea for £417/16/0d (£417.80), was kept as vestry to rear of present chapel but demolished after 1999. Present chapel built by Messrs Broad of Great Malvern for £2898/10/4d (£2898.52), similar to Beddoe Rees chapels in Llandrindod Wells 1904-5 and Caerphilly 1903-4. The interior had the bow-fronted ironwork to the gallery fronts found in other Beddoe Rees chapels, but removed in conversion to flats.

Exterior

Chapel, coursed rock-faced sandstone coursed, with limestone ashlar dressings and slate roofs. Late Gothic style, gable fronted with porch tower to left and hipped stair wing to right. Basement and 2 storeys. Main gable has 4 rectangular basement windows below plinth, 4 rectangular ground floor windows in ashlar frames, flat headed with recessed ogee heads. Sill band under big pointed and ornately traceried 5-light window, then ashlar band in gable and cross-finial to coped gable. Thin octagonal turret with ashlar quoins to right, ashlar blank panelled section below gable level and similar turret above with ogee domed cap and cross finial. Wing to right has broad basement door with ashlar flat lintel with incised tracery. Plinth band, ashlar quoins to canted end and ashlar eaves window band with inset shaped heads to lights, 2 lights to front, one to canted side and to S end. Canted hipped steep roof.
Tower to left has 2-stage clasping buttresses up to base of deep parapet with panelled ashlar corner piers and recessed steep slate pyramid roof. Steps up to broad segmental arched doorway with chamfered jambs and moulded head. Band under first floor rectangular ashlar light with inset tracery to head and to cambered-headed broad traceried 5-light window. Similar N side but ground floor has 2 rectangular ashlar windows.
Five-bay N side with basement, 3-step buttresses and rectangular ashlar windows with quoined jambs and ashlar flush sill bands. S side is similar but yellow-brick window frames.
In the conversion to flats most of the windows have been reglazed with timber windows retaining the leaded lights of the main window and tower window. The front door has been replaced.

Interior

The ornate interior with curved-fronted cast-iron galleries has been wholly altered by insertion of flats. Some roof-trusses visible in inner hall.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a prominent Gothic chapel by the leading early C20 chapel architect W. Beddoe Rees.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29499339

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Herefordshire (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)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)