Chad Varah House (Former Lincoln Theological College, Attached Chapel, Water Tower And House)

Chad Varah House, formerly Lincoln Theological College, comprises a former County Hospital, an attached chapel, a water tower, and a house. The main block was built in 1776-77 by John Carr of York and William Lumby, with a chapel added in 1906 by Temple Moore. A rear addition dates from 1962, and the attached house and water tower are late 19th century. The building is constructed of brick with hipped slate roofs and two ridge and two side wall stacks.

The exterior features a dentilled cornice and flat-arched openings. The main block is symmetrical, with three storeys and eleven bays, a projecting pedimented centre, and flanking wings. A central Doric portico has a half-glazed double door and fanlight. The ground floor has four sash windows, one on the right replaced with a 20th-century glazed door. Above are ranges of nine sashes on each floor, with the second-floor windows smaller and some blocked. Each wing has a central Venetian window on the lower floors, with triple sashes above.

The attached house, to the left, is two-storey and L-shaped, with two sashes on each floor and a lean-to glazed porch. The octagonal water tower, at the north-east corner, has four stages, round-headed windows, machicolated eaves, and an octagonal spire.

The chapel, built in the Decorated style, is of brick with stone dressings and a plain tile roof. It incorporates a stepped chamfered plinth, sill band, and coped east gable with a cross. Windows have hoodmoulds, and the interior comprises a nave and chancel. The east end features central and angle buttresses and a five-light window. The south side has a segment-headed three-light window to the left and a chamfered doorway and three smaller two-light windows to the right. Above are three windows, with a three-light centre flanked by single lancets. The west end has a round window with a doorway above. A buttressed lean-to vestry adjoins the north side.

Inside the main block, a five-flight cantilevered open-well staircase is located at the east end, featuring stick balusters and a ramped scrolled handrail. An internal glazed porch and six-panel doors are original to the 18th century. A framed newel staircase with winders is at the west end. The chapel has a pointed tunnel-vaulted wooden roof and a sill band. A gallery with segment-headed doors is at the west end, and a blind arcade runs along the north side. The south side includes a piscina and sedilia to the east. Further fittings include panelled oak stalls and benches, and stained glass by H Victor Milner.