Description

CHATHAM

TQ7567NW HIGH STREET
762-1/3/15 (South side)
29/10/52 St Bartholomew's Chapel

GV II*

Chapel, hospital Chapel, now chapel of ease. Founded 1078 by
Gundulph as part of St Bartholomew's Hospital, completed
c1120, altered C13, nave partly rebuilt 1725, restored and N
aisle added 1896 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
MATERIALS: flint and rubble with limestone dressings and a
tiled roof.
PLAN/STYLE: Norman apse, Early English N chancel, chapel and
nave, Early English Gothic Revival style N aisle and SE
vestry.
EXTERIOR: apse has a half conical roof with 3 round-arched C11
windows with incised zig-zag decoration, and taller chancel
gable.
N chapel gable has tufa quoins, 2 lancets and a quatrefoil,
with exposed truss, and 2-window N side. C19 N aisle has 3
pairs of round-arched windows and sill band with low
buttresses between the right and middle pairs and to the
right.
W end has gabled nave and lower N aisle with exposed trusses,
each with 2 lancets, the aisle with a quatrefoil above, and a
buttress between. Mid C19 coped, gabled porch with a 2-centre
chamfered arch to a similar W door with strap hinges.
S elevation to nave has 2 small flat-headed windows, and a
lower gabled SE vestry with a W arched door and paired E
lancets.
To the W end of the nave ridge is a steep square pyramidal
spirelet with swept eaves.
INTERIOR: chancel has a C13 round-arched sedilia with attached
black marble columns, and a round chancel arch; vestry has a
carved C12 piscina set on the top of a column with moulded
base and capital, attributed to Hugh de Trottescliffe;
restored round arches to N chapel and chancel arch: 3-bay nave
with round columns with waterleaf capitals and checked arches.
C19 roof has ashlar posts and collars.
HISTORY: the only surviving part of the former St
Bartholomew's Hospital, built outside the East Gate by Bishop
Gundulph, and associated with his works at Rochester
Cathedral. Used as a dwelling after the Reformation, the
chapel was bought back and restored in 1725. The cloister lay
to the S. Group value with the surrounding walls (qv).
(The Buildings of England: Newman J: West Kent and the Weald:

London: 1976-: 202; Greenwood EJ: The Hospital of St
Bartholomew Rochester: Rochester: 1962-).

Listing NGR: TQ7524967892

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17551508

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

• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability