Chapel At Somerford Hall

The chapel, dated 1720, stands within the grounds of Somerford Hall. Constructed of red Flemish bond brick with black headers and ashlar dressings, it has a hall plan. The western front features a deep ashlar plinth with a chamfered top, and chamfered quoins to all corners. A central doorway is distinguished by a moulded ashlar round-arched surround, moulded springers, a keystone, and a hood mould. Above the doorway is a datestone surrounded by moulding, inscribed “Glory be to God on high/And on Earth peace/Goodwill towards men/A.D. MDCCXX”. A round-arched window sits above the datestone, also with a moulded ashlar surround. A later circular clock face is set within the gable, which has ashlar coping and ball finials at the apex and lower corners. The eastern end mirrors the western with a similar plinth, quoins, and gable decoration, but contains a single, centrally placed, three-light window of early 20th-century date, replacing an earlier window whose lower ashlar sill remains visible. An oval oeil de boeuf window is positioned in the gable above. The southern side has four round-arched windows with ashlar surrounds, and a blank bay on the western end. The northern wall is similar, with some replaced brickwork.

Inside, the lower walls are lined with raised and fielded panelling, topped by a 19th-century frieze and cornice. A gallery extends along the western end, supported by two square Corinthian capitals, and incorporates a staircase with a ramped, moulded handrail on the right and an enclosed pew with a screen of matching balusters on the left. The gallery front is of raised and fielded panels, while the rear corners feature square columns with fluting, triglyphs, and guttae to the frieze and cornice. A reredos dominates the eastern end, displaying three painted panels: a portion of St Matthew's gospel on the left and the creed on the right. A late 19th- or early 20th-century embroidered panel, with a guilloche-moulded surround, overlays the central panel. Corinthian pilasters flank the reredos, and a broken segmental pediment, centered between which is a pelican in her piety, crowns the top. Slightly sunken arched panels on either side now contain marble wall monuments. The roof structure features four trusses with queenposts, angle braces, and V-struts to the apex. The eastern triple window and one northern window are memorials to members of the Shakerley family, and were designed by Irene Dunlop.