Former Presbyterian Chapel

The former Presbyterian Chapel, located at 19 Villiers Street in Sunderland, was built in 1825 by James Hogg. It is now a business training centre and features railings. The building is constructed with an ashlar front and coursed squared stone returns and rear, with ashlar dressings, and is designed in a classical style with a symmetrical layout.

The exterior consists of two storeys and three windows arranged in five bays. The central projection is pedimented and defined by giant pilasters, with the central bay being wider. It contains a double panelled door with an overlight featuring glazing bars, all set in a projecting plain stone surround with a cornice and blocking course. Above the door is a round-headed window with glazing bars, set in a slightly recessed surround. The flanking bays also have similar windows in plain surrounds. Sill strings run between the pilasters and in the recessed outer bays, which feature a rusticated ground floor and tall rectangular panels above. The top entablature includes a blank panel over the central bay and restored Roman numerals MDCCCXXV in the pediment, while former letters indicating its use as a Presbyterian chapel have been removed. A corniced block rises behind the peak of the pediment, with a blocking course over the outer pilasters that steps down over the outer bays. The returns have a single ashlar bay similar to the front, completing the angle treatment, and continue in rubble with round-headed windows that have raised stone surrounds with key and impost blocks. The rear, also in rubble, features a shallow apse.