Summary

A private chapel, built in C15, restored in the late C20.

Description

A private chapel, built in the mid-C15, restored in the late C20.

MATERIALS: local-rubble stone with a stone-tiled roof.

PLAN: rectangular single-cell building, aligned W to E.

EXTERIOR: a gable-ended building topped by a pitched roof with a stone ridge and a cruciform finial over the E end. At the W end is a C20 moulded stone pointed arch around a timber door with strap hinges. Above is a single-light window. In the N wall a central door has been blocked and another more recent door has been replaced with a two-light window. This is also a small single-light window to the E side of the N wall. The E end contains a two-light window within pointed stone arch. The lights have cusped heads and a glazed quatrefoil above. In the S wall there is square opening with a two-light, cusped-headed window.

INTERIOR: in the W wall, above the door, is a C13 timber with dog-tooth style ornamentation. The E window has fragments of C15 glass which were inserted in the C20. There is a restored two-bay, collar-beam, wind-braced roof and a flagstone floor.

History

The first owner of Sheldon Manor was Sir William de Beauvilain, who lived there from circa 1180 to 1230. The Manor formed part of the medieval village of Sheldon which formerly lay to the west of the Manor. The Manor was owned by Sir Walter de Godarville from 1231 until 1250, when his daughter Joan de Godarville married Sir Geoffrey Gascelyn. Sheldon Manor remained in the ownership of the Gascelyn family until the early C15. The current house was first constructed in 1282, and has been altered and enlarged at various phases including the early C15, circa 1660, circa 1710 and 1911.

The detached chapel to the SE of the house is believed to date from c.1450, and was built for Sir Walter Hungerford who bought Sheldon Manor from the Gascelyn family in 1424. It was built as a private place of worship for the family and their servants. Later, it was used for many years to house livestock and this led to openings being made in the N elevation. It was restored for use as a chapel in 1979; some of the openings were altered and a new entrance was inserted in the W end.

Reasons for Listing

The chapel to the south-east of Sheldon Manor, Chippenham Without, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Date: a C15 chapel which retains a significant proportion of late-medieval fabric;
* Architectural interest: this modestly-sized building makes good use of local materials and architectural detailing;
* Group value: it has strong group value with a number of designated historic assets, including Sheldon Manor (Grade I) and its designed landscape (registered; Grade II), and the remains of the medieval settlement of Sheldon (scheduled monument).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534474

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

• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)