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THE CHAPELS SOCIETY Newsletter 64 January 2017 The rostrum, choir pews and organ of Bishop Street Methodist Church, Leicester (photograph copyright John Dearing) I S S N 1357–3276 ADDRESS BOOK The Chapels Society: registered charity number 1014207 Website: http://www.chapelssociety.org.uk President: Tim Grass, 1 Thornhill Close, Ramsey, Isle of Man IM8 3LA; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 01624 819619 (also enquiries about visits) Secretary: Moira Ackers, 1 Valley Road, Loughborough, Leics LE11 3PX; e-mail: [email protected] (for general correspondence and website) Treasurer: Jean West, 172 Plaw Hatch Close, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 5BJ Visits Secretary: position continues in abeyance Membership Secretary: Paul Gardner, 1 Sunderland Close, Borstal, Rochester ME1 3AS; e-mail: [email protected] Casework Officer: Michael Atkinson, 47 Kitchener Terrace, North Shields NE30 2HH; e-mail: [email protected] Editor: Chris Skidmore, 46 Princes Drive, Skipton BD23 1HL; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 01756 790056 (correspondence re the Newsletter and other Society publications). Copy for the next (May 2017) Newsletter needs to reach the Editor by 30 March 2017, please. NOTICEBOARD CHAPELS SOCIETY EVENTS 1 April 2017 West Yorkshire Communities (Chris Skidmore) early July 2017* Oxford visit (Martin Wellings) and AGM 30 September 2017 Conference (jointly with the Ecclesiological Society) on the architecture of less-well-studied denominations at the St Alban centre, London. Autumn 2017* Bristol visit *dates to be arranged EDITORIAL Your editor is proud to present this packed issue of the Newsletter and would like to thank all his correspondents for their contributions and to apologise to those for whom there was no space in this issue. He continues to welcome further contributions. 2017 may turn out to be a good year for the recording of our heritage of chapels and meeting houses. We welcome the engagement of Historic England in this task in its program of ‘Taking Stock’ which has so far surveyed Roman Catholic churches (www.taking-stock.org.uk/Home) and Quaker Meeting Houses (see article in Newsletter 62). We look forward to the publication of Christopher Wakeling’s book The Chapel in England by Historic England early in the year. The final volume of David Butler’s survey of meeting houses – Quaker Buildings Abroad – is also currently in proof. Despite this, as this Newsletter shows, there are still many Nonconformist buildings neglected and in limbo, but I believe there may still be grounds for optimism. 2 THE CHAPELS SOCIETY PROCEEDINGS VISIT TO LEICESTER – 8 OCTOBER 2016 On an overcast but mild and largely dry October 8th, around 27 chapellers assembled at the Bishop Street Methodist Church for a tour of Leicester’s chapels, led by Paul Griffiths with Neil Crutchley and David Rhodes as assistant shepherds. At the outset we were reminded that while Leicester today is perhaps best known for its football and rugby teams and its connection with Richard III, in 1850 it was nicknamed the ‘Metropolis of Dissent’. This claim is certainly borne out by the imposing redbrick façade of the Bishop Street Church. Although at present at the heart of Leicester’s Town Hall Square, when built in 1815-16 on land close to the cattle market, it lay on the edge of Leicester outside the city walls. The town hall itself came along 60 years later. The imposing redbrick façade of the Bishop Street Methodist Church (photograph copyright John Dearing) The chapel was designed by William Jenkins, a Methodist minister who was architect for a number of chapels across the land including the contemporaneous Walcot Chapel, Bath. Internally, its features include a horseshoe-shaped gallery and a mid-Victorian organ that was once thought to have been the work of ‘Father Smith’. While the traditional layout including fixed pews and ‘High Victorian’ rostrum have been retained there has also been sensitive adaptation to contemporary needs with the conversion of the foyer area to a café, open six days a week, whose excellent fare a number of the party sampled when they returned to the chapel for lunch. The second port-of-call on the other side of the city centre was the Great Meeting Unitarian chapel, dating from 1708. Here the minister, Dr Arthur Stewart, outlined the history and features of the chapel, which began as a joint NEWSLETTER 64 3 enterprise of Independent and Presbyterian congregations, both of which had their origins in the ejections of 1662. The Congregationalists went their own way in 1803, leaving the Presbyterians to espouse the Unitarian cause. In terms of architecture the chapel comprises a nearly square building with hipped roof surrounding a central valley used for water drainage. Porches were added in 1866 and in recent years the building has been further extended with the addition of a Garden Room in contemporary style. The interior of the Great Meeting (photograph copyright John Dearing) A notable choirmaster in the early 19th century was William Gardiner, who championed the music of Beethoven and gave us the hymn tune ‘Belmont’ (By cool Siloam’s shady rill). The chapel also produced the first seven Mayors of the city, following the local government reformation of 1835, earning thereby the title of the ‘The Mayors’ Nest’. Other members pioneered the provision of welfare and education for poorer families and others were involved in the development of the hosiery trade. The continuing influence of the Unitarian faith in the city was demonstrated by the 2011 election of Sir Peter Soulsby, a member, as the first elected Mayor of Leicester. The Central Baptist Church in Charles Street, our last call before the lunch break, is the surviving member of a complex family of Baptist chapels in the centre of Leicester. It began life in 1831 as an offshoot from a Particular Baptist Church meeting in Harvey Lane and subsequently absorbed the congregations meeting in Belvoir Street in 1940 and Victoria Road in 1983. It was designed by William Flint with a fine classical façade and interior with galleries supported on slender columns. However, the central High Pulpit was removed in 1980. Of particular interest to students of missiology is the museum containing papers and artefacts relating to the work of William Carey, who was pastor at Harvey Lane from 1789 4 THE CHAPELS SOCIETY and four years later became the Baptist Missionary Society’s pioneer missionary to India. Another notable pastor was Robert Hall (1806-26) whose statue can be seen in New Walk. Roger Beeby who outlined the history of the chapel also gave the impression of a lively and active church with current activities including ‘messy church’, Café Church and Unplugged (held at Costa Coffee). Joseph Hansom’s Belvoir Street Chapel – the ‘Pork Pie Chapel’ (photograph copyright John Dearing) After lunch the party visited one of the former Baptist Churches that fed into Central. Belvoir Street was built in 1845 to replace the Harvey Lane Chapel with room for 1,500 worshippers. Neil Crutchley, author of a booklet on the subject, presented its history. Unusually, the chapel was designed by a prominent Roman Catholic architect, Joseph Hansom, inventor of the Hansom Cab. It is believed to be his only Nonconformist church design and one of very few in the classical style. Its outward appearance as a circular tub with a lid earned it the nickname of the ‘Pork Pie Chapel’. Belvoir Street flourished under the lengthy pastorates of James Mursell and James Thew; including Mursell’s time at Harvey Lane these men chalked up 85 years between them. However, the early part of the 20th century saw a decline in numbers attending and increased maintenance costs leading to the closure of the chapel in 1940. It was subsequently sold to the city corporation and adapted for use as a College of Adult Education. Happily we heard that recently the auditorium has again been used for Sunday worship by a charismatic group. The final two chapels were a good bus trip away from the city centre in the leafy southern suburbs of Clarendon Park and Stoneygate, passing en route the former Victoria Road Baptist Church, now used by Seventh-Day Adventists. Clarendon Park Congregational Church was opened in 1886 and its first minister from 1888-94 was the major Scottish theologian, P.T. Forsyth. In contrast to the predominantly classical architecture found in the city centre churches the style here is late Gothic Revival in what has been described as ‘a free arts- NEWSLETTER 64 5 and-crafts manner’. Its most striking feature is the massive tower with triple Perpendicular windows facing onto the London Road. The architect was a local man, James Tait. Clarendon Park remained outside the United Reformed Church in 1971 and subsequently became a leading member of the Congregational Federation. More recently a proposed merger with Stoneygate Baptist did not achieve sufficient support to proceed, although relations between the two churches are close. The church hall is also used for Saturday worship by a group of Messianic Jews. A walk further down London Road brought us to our final destination, the Stoneygate Baptist Church, also the most recent of the chapels visited, dating from 1900 when 70 members withdrew from Clarendon Hall Baptist (now a Sikh Temple). Initially, the congregation met in rented rooms but in 1913/14 The interior of Stoneygate Baptist Church (photograph copyright John Dearing) they were able to occupy a new church built and financed by a group of local businessmen. The architect, G. Lawton Brown, chose a Baroque style with a monumental façade fronting a spacious barrel-vaulted interior. The Baptistery is equally vast, taking 24 hours to fill! Unusually perhaps the customary chapel tea took place in the chapel itself rather than ancillary buildings.

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