Wooler United Reformed Church

Wooler United Reformed Church

Church on Cheviot Street, Wooler, originally built as a Presbyterian chapel in 1784. The building was refurbished in the later 19th century by James Stevenson of Berwick in the Gothic Revival style, and underwent further alterations in 1903–4 by George Reavell of Alnwick.

The church is constructed of local coursed sandstone with ashlar dressings and a Welsh slate roof. The interior features a pitch pine ceiling and fittings.

The rectangular chapel is oriented with the pulpit to the south and the main entrance in the north west. A vestry is attached to the south end, and a three-stage tower rises from the north.

The main west elevation shows four bays with pointed arched windows featuring rectilinear tracery. Evidence of earlier blocked doors and windows remains visible. A parapet runs above the main body, interrupted by four narrow embrasures, with five rainwater pipes descending to ground level; these have art nouveau style hoppers and keyed stone head details. The roof is surmounted by an octagonal cupola with a slatted belfry and short spire.

The tower at the north end contains the main entrance at ground level, reached by stone steps. The entrance archway is pointed with moulded reveals and a perpendicular drip mould with carved stops, surrounding a panel of blind rectilinear tracery. Double wooden doors with decorative strap hinges fill the opening. Paired windows occupy the second stage with perpendicular drip moulds. The third stage has squared piers alternating with recessed blind tracery panels, surmounted by a continuous projecting drip mould adorned with stone gargoyles. The piers rise above a crenellated parapet with embrasures bisected and capped with curvilinear mouldings reflecting similarly curved cap stones on the piers. A needle spire faced in slate and finished with a decorative finial tops the tower.

A single-bay range attached to the south end is slightly lower, containing one window, a raised parapet, paired pointed arch doorways at ground floor level, and an end chimneystack.

The rear east elevation has four bays with raised parapet, rainwater pipes, and windows matching the main elevation. A modern single-storey extension at the north end and a modern lean-to attached to the north of the tower are not of special architectural interest. The third stage of the tower matches the main elevation; the remainder is plain with an attached two-storey lean-to.

Interior access to the main body of the church is through a simple pointed arched entrance off a large vestibule at the north end. Church walls are plain painted plaster above a boarded dado. Two rows of benches—a double row and single row divided by a narrow aisle—fill the main space with orthogonal subdivisions at irregular intervals. The benches have close-boarded backs, book rests, and simple moulded edges, retaining their original numbering.

A gallery occupies the north end, supported on wooden corbels with plain panels and a centrally placed clock in an ogee surround, with similar seating. Art nouveau stained glass fills most windows, featuring motifs of trees, foliage, fruit, and flowers. Wooden boarded communion rails with quatrefoil patterning enclose a centrally placed dais at the south end, reached by steps with ornate newel posts and boarded balustrades with quatrefoil patterning above. The pulpit has a rectilinear patterned front and stands before a crocketed and pinnacled ogee niche. The organ is positioned to the right.

The entire interior is covered by a pitch pine coffered ceiling, lit by a pair of windows and several roof lights. A wide open string staircase of dog leg form, housed within the tower, rises to a small anteroom with low coffered wooden ceiling providing access to the gallery. A schoolroom and service rooms are attached to the north end, most featuring boarded dados and pointed arched doors. A small first-floor vestry attached to the south end is accessed by a plain flight of stairs and features a panelled dado, wooden mantelpiece, and fitted cupboards.

A Commemoration of Union Board marking the union of three Presbyterian churches in the town in 1952 and the establishment of the United Reformed Church in 1972 occupies the wall beneath the gallery. Other notable memorials include a brass First World War memorial and a plaque recording the 1903–4 alterations.

History

The church was erected in 1784 as an English Presbyterian chapel, apparently near the ruins of a much earlier religious foundation. According to the church's historical record, it was one of the first buildings in Wooler to be roofed with slate and became known as the Blue Meeting Place. The original interior featured a gallery extending around three sides with the pulpit centrally placed against the east wall.

In the later 19th century, the church was refurbished in the popular Gothic Revival style by James Stevenson of Berwick. The current external and interior character largely dates from this campaign. Alterations included removal of the original gallery and creation of a new one against the north wall, addition of the pitch pine ceiling, insertion of the present Gothic windows, and probably the addition of the tower and steeple. Stevenson undertook other significant works in Northumberland, including refurbishment of Callally Castle, design of its new stables, and design of St. Edward's Roman Catholic church and presbytery at Lowick.

The church was remodelled again in 1903–4 by George Reavell of Alnwick, a competent provincial architect who remodelled numerous secular and religious buildings in the early 20th century across a range of revival styles. Alterations at this time included a new roof, raising of the tower and all walls by addition of a parapet, installation of rainwater pipes, a new organ, and the notable collection of art nouveau stained glass in most windows.

The Presbyterian and Congregational Churches merged in 1972 to form the United Reformed Church.