Former Unitarian chapel is a Grade II* listed building in the Manchester local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 October 1974. A C19 Chapel. 2 related planning applications.
Former Unitarian chapel
- WRENN ID
- muffled-rood-oak
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Manchester
- Constituency
- Manchester Rusholme MP: Afzal Khan (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 3 October 1974
- Type
- Chapel
- Address
- Former Unitarian chapel, Upper Brook Street
- OS grid reference
- SJ 847 969
- Coordinates
- 53.46935, -2.23127
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The building is a former Unitarian chapel, constructed between 1837 and 1839 by Sir Charles Barry. It is located on Upper Brook Street in Manchester and has also served as a Welsh Baptist church and an Islamic Academy, and is now residential. The chapel is built from coursed squared sandstone and features slate roofs in an Early English style.
The structure has seven narrow bays, each with buttresses and a tall lancet window with a hoodmould. The west facade is gabled and includes a giant archway that is moulded in three orders, containing a similar recessed arch with a moulded two-centred arched doorway at the ground floor and a two-light window above. There is also a rose window in the east gable and square corner pinnacles.
Attached to the chapel is the Sunday school, which is aligned to the north and connected by a link. This two-storey building has a two-span roof and a triple-gabled north side, featuring large two-centred arched windows at the first floor, each with three lancet lights. The west end has a canted apse and a lean-to porch at the angle.
Inside the chapel, there are galleries on three sides and a ribbed vaulted ceiling. This building is noted for being the first Gothic Nonconformist chapel.
Local climate
Former Unitarian chapel sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,060 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 85% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 77% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 84% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
Sign in or create a free account to unlock:
- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- The Mawson Hotel
- Oddfellows Hall
- Waterloo Place
- Adult Deaf and Dumb Institute (Former)
- Former Grosvenor Picture Palace
- Former Department of Metallurgy, University of Manchester, and Attached Railings
- Manchester Museum Extensions
- Drill Hall
- Victoria University of Manchester Including Christie Library, Whitworth Hall
- Manchester University Rutherford Building and Hopkinson Memorial Wing