Moravian Chapel and No. 12 Parsons Street, Hinton, West Northamptonshire

Description

WOODFORD CUM MEMBRIS

1731/0/10011 PARSONS STREET
14-MAR-11 Woodford Halse
(South side)
Moravian Chapel and No. 12 Parsons Str
eet

II
A Moravian chapel and manse, built 1799, altered in the early and late C19 with an additional chapel added to the north-west in 1906 by A.E. Allen of Banbury.

MATERIALS
The chapel and manse are built of red and occasional purple brick, generally laid in Flemish bond, on an ironstone plinth. The shallow gable roof has a slate covering and there is a ridge stack at the south-east end. The 1906 chapel is of red brick with moulded brick and buff stone dressings and has a tiled covering to the roof.

PLAN
The three-bay, C18 chapel and two-storey, two-bay manse are arranged in a rectangular plan. The 1906 chapel is set at a right angle adjoining the north-west elevation of the C18 phase.

EXTERIOR
The south-west elevation of the C18 chapel has three, large, late-C19 windows under shallow, segmented brick heads - there are corresponding windows on the chapel's north-east elevation. The windows are multi-paned with thin, metal glazing bars, inset with a border of red and green coloured glass. A late-C20 flat roofed, single-storey addition is attached to the north-west bay, partially blocking the chapel window in this position. Adjoining to the south-east is the manse. The doorway has a simple rectangular fanlight beneath a straight head. The windows all have shallow, arched heads. To the right of the door are ten-over-ten sash windows without horns at the ground and first floors, which probably date to the late-C18 or early C19. At the first floor, above the doorway, is a C20 casement window. At the north-east elevation, on the Parsons Street frontage, the gable end of the late-C18, two-storey kitchen range has an Edwardian sash window at first floor and an oculus at the apex of the gable. Adjoining to the north-west is a two-storey, late-C19 addition, parallel to the road, with a slate-covered gabled roof and end stack. The angular, single-storey vestibule to the 1906 chapel is adjacent to the north-west. The south-east elevation of the manse has a ten-over-ten sash window of the early-C19 and late-C19 sash and casement windows.

The early-C20 chapel has windows with squared, leaded lights and decorative stained glass at the heads. The principal elevation lies at the north-east frontage with Parsons Street and comprises a gable to the west and a staged turret with shouldered buttresses to the east. At the base of the turret is a pointed-arched entrance with a timber door decorated with metal straps. At the first floor is a pair of pointed-arch lancets with stone surrounds. The third stage of the turret houses the belfry and is polygonal with a louvred, single pointed-arch opening to each side and dentilled cornices to the eaves. The gable has a large window with three lights, stone transoms and quatrefoil tracery and a stone surround. A band of terracotta tiles cuts across the lower third of the window. The north-west elevation has a side aisle, supported by buttresses, beneath a pent roof. There are single and three-light windows with stone surrounds. To the rear is a single storey, flat-roofed vestry which obscures the lower part of the rear elevation. Above, are two lancet windows and a central roundel with stained glass depicting the Lamb of God, all with stone surrounds. The south-east elevation abuts the old chapel. Some of the windows in the side aisle at the rear are C20 replacements.

INTERIOR
The C18 chapel retains the late-C19 platform for the pulpit and wall panelling. Above the platform is a roundel on the wall which depicts the Lamb of God (the Moravian symbol) which probably dates from the late-C19. The early-C19 gallery lies at the west end, supported on slender columns with mouldings to the capitals and bases. The timber balustrade of the gallery is faced with rectangular panels and has a carved handrail. Beneath the gallery is a two-panel door, probably of the late-C18 or early-C19, and an enclosed stair which leads to the gallery above. A late-C18, two-panel door leads from the gallery space into the tower of the 1906 chapel, although this is unlikely to be in situ. The pulpit and pews have been removed, and the floor covering is of the late C20.

The manse retains many fixtures and fittings of the C19, including the stairs, an early-C19 hob grate, window shutters, cupboards, tiled floor coverings, doors, door furniture and joinery. One door has a 'L' hinge. The roof structure comprises principle rafter trusses with a ridge piece and probably dates to the late-C19.

The early-C20 fixtures and fittings of the 1906 chapel remain including the panelled porch, pews and organ. The multi-coloured stained glass has gentle foliate designs in Art Nouveau style. The mock hammer-beam roof rests on carved stone corbels.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
The earliest Sunday School remains to the south of the manse, now in use as a shed. It is a brick and weatherboard structure with a slate-covered roof, an eight-light casement window and additional partly-glazed, lean-to.

HISTORY
The Moravian church made considerable headway into Northamptonshire from 1744, served by itinerant preachers from Northampton and Bedford who visited Woodford Halse and nearby Eydon to conduct open air services.

In 1787, William Hunt, a farmer of Woodford Halse, began to preach himself, and a house was licensed for such purposes in the village. As the number of followers increased, Woodford became the principal meeting place in the area and was finally recognised as a congregation of the Moravian Church on 25th September 1796. In 1798 the building of the chapel and the adjoining manse (now known as no.12 Parsons Street) started, with the foundation stone being laid on 28th June. The chapel was formally opened on 18th April 1799. Internal re-ordering of 1828 relocated the pulpit from the north end to the east and a new gallery was erected at the west end. More significant remodelling occurred in 1875, when the two entrances on the south elevation were replaced with large windows to light the chapel and a porch was built on the west end. A detached Sunday school was built near to the west end of the church, opening on Christmas Day 1875. In 1906, the growing congregation necessitated the construction of a new chapel on the site of the Sunday school of 1875. Built at a cost of £1400, and designed in Gothic style by Mr A.E Allen from Banbury, the chapel is aligned approximately north-south and has the main front entrance on Parsons Street. The old chapel was used as a Sunday school at this time. In the late-C20, single-storey additions were constructed to the south of the old chapel. By the 1980s, the congregation was declining in numbers and in 1999, the manse was sold off. The manse had a connecting door into the chapel which may have been blocked by this time. Many of the Northampton Moravian churches closed in the early-C21 and in September 2009, the last service was held at Woodford Halse.

SOURCES
Anon., The Northampton Group of Moravian Chapels and Preaching Houses (1886)
Stell, Christopher. Non-conformist chapels in East England (2002)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The late C18 and C19 Moravian chapel and manse at Woodford Halse is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons.
* Architectural interest: The earlier chapel and manse retain most of the external fabric of 1799. The 1906 addition is robust and competently detailed with a broad palette of materials in the Gothic style which contrasts well with the simplicity of the C18 phase.
* Intactness: The C18 chapel was re-ordered in the early and late C19, but this has not unduly affected the architectural quality of the whole. The manse is little altered, and the early C20 chapel has an intact exterior and interior.
* Interiors: The manse has a largely intact plan-form of the late C18 and retains contemporary features including the stairs and a hob-grate. The C18 chapel has an early C19 gallery. The 1906 chapel has a distinctive roof structure and stained glass with Art Nouveau motifs.
* Historic interest: The foundation of this chapel and manse, and their construction, are relatively well documented which adds to their interest.

Reasons for Listing

The late-C18 and C19 Moravian chapel and manse at Woodford Halse are recommended for designation for the following principal reasons.
* Architectural interest: The earlier chapel and manse retain most of the external fabric of 1799. The 1906 addition is robust and competently detailed with a broad palette of materials in the Gothic style which contrasts well with the simplicity of the C18 phase.
* Intactness: The C18 chapel was re-ordered in the early and late C19, but this has not unduly affected the architectural quality of the whole. The manse is little altered, and the early-C20 chapel has an intact exterior and interior.
* Interiors: The manse has a largely intact plan-form of the late C18 and retains contemporary features including the stairs and a hob-grate. The C18 chapel has an early C19 gallery. The 1906 chapel has a distinctive roof structure and stained glass with Art Nouveau motifs.
* Historic interest: the foundation of this chapel and manse, and their construction, are relatively well documented which adds to their interest.

External Links

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