Gildersome Baptist Church And Attached Sunday School

SE22NW LS27 CHURCH STREET SE2429 MORLEY (north side), Gildersome

1/15 Gildersome Baptist 30.4.82 Church and attached Sunday School (formerly listed as Gildersome Baptist Church and Sunday School)

• II

Baptist Church and attached Sunday School. Church dated 1865 Sunday School added c1887 (foundation stone). Hammer-dressed stone with ashlar dressings to facade,rock-faced stone to sides and rear, Welsh blue-slate roof. Church 2 storeys, school single storey. Church: 3-bay symmetrical facade with pedimented gable. Plinth, channelled quoin pilasters above which rise pairs of fluted consoles supporting the ends of bracketed cornice and pediment. Large central portal with channelled pilasters, deep entablature and cornice, double-doors each of 6 fielded panels with margin glazed overlight. To either side a segmental-arched window with shouldered jambs and crested lintel. ist-floor sill band. 3 windows to central bay flanked by single window to outer bays all with semicircular-arched lintels, imposts and tall keystones and with pulvinated reveals. Small arched light with keystone in tympanum with date inscribed on scrolled sill. Anthemion acroterion. Right-hand return has 6 bays with square-headed sashes to ground floor and taller arched windows to ist floor. Left-hand return has similar windows and lateral stack. Attached to 4th and 5th bay is school wing: 7 bays with squared ashlar round-arched windows and oculi above in squared and keyed surrounds. Porch to centre. Coped gable to left with ball finial. Left gable has tall round arched chamfered panel with recessed pair of tall margin-glazed windows and oculus. The left gable is extended with a 4-bay, single-storey wing, and to the rear is another dated 1882. Interior: chapel: retains original box pews to ground floor and horse-shoe shaped gallery carried on cast-iron Doric columns the surface decorated as wallpaper. Finely furnished pulpit with panelled sides and wrought- and cart-iron gallery. Organ by Fitton and Haley (Stanningley, Leeds) in elaborate classical case with 3 segmental pediments to lower stage upper pilastered stage with semicircular-arch with impost and keystone and pulvinated frieze surmounted by triangular pediment. Ribbed panelled ceiling with central foliated boss. Over upper widows is plaster hoodmould and impost band. School room has barrel-vaulted ceiling with king-post roof with brattished tie-beam and single curved angle-struts. Roundels have stained glass. An early Baptist site. The burial ground contains a number of good C18 and early Cl9 tomb stones, earliest 1747.

Listing NGR: SE2411829435