Chapel Immediately North-West Of Compton Verney

A redundant chapel built in 1772 by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, possibly to designs by Robert Adam. The building replaced an earlier church that stood by the lake and was demolished during Brown's landscaping work.

The chapel is constructed of limestone ashlar with some dressed stone, and has a gabled roof of graduated stone slate. It follows a simple single-vessel plan with nave and chancel.

The east end features a Venetian window. The west end is pedimented and has a rusticated ground floor with three round-headed recesses; the central recess serves as the entrance and contains a fielded six-panel door. The first floor above has a blind window with sill, architrave, frieze and consoled cornice, flanking niches in similar surrounds, and a wood bellcote in the form of a triumphal arch.

The south elevation has three windows with an upper sill band and top cornice. A blocked entrance at the left end has a plain surround with flat arch and consoled pediment. Three blind windows with plain surrounds are present, along with three round-headed upper windows with small-paned glazing. A terrace, originally with iron railings, runs along this side. The north side is of plain dressed stone with three round-headed windows.

The interior displays Adam-style plaster decoration throughout. A rosette frieze runs over the pews above plain panels below a sill band with Vitruvian scroll detail. Between the windows are panels with eared and shouldered architraves and swags, with panelled reveals and waterleaf to the surrounds. Cartouches and husk festoons decorate the space above the windows. The ceiling is richly coffered with rosettes, fluted frieze, cornice and cove decoration.

The east end has a large panel with concave angles enclosing a wreath, flanked by fluted angle pilasters. A west gallery rests on pairs of Doric columns and features a frieze with swags, dentil cornice and panels with concave angles. A staircase with column-on-vase balusters provides access. The entrance has architrave, fluted frieze and consoled cornice.

Original fittings include a triple-decker pulpit and stalls facing north and south, and benches to the gallery that partly obscure a fireplace to the side wall with architrave detailed with rosettes to angles, fluted frieze and cornice.

The chapel contains a significant collection of monuments spanning several centuries. Three early brasses commemorate Anne Verney (died 1523), Richard Verney and family (died 1526), and George Verney (died 1574). Three mid-17th-century floor slabs of black marble with brass insets at the altar step are dated 1642, 1648 and 1649. Three similar stone slabs with armorial bearings and inscriptions are dated 1683, 1698 and 1700.

A notable free-standing alabaster chest tomb commemorates Sir Richard Verney (died 1630) and is attributed to Nicholas Stone. It features slate inscription panels and slate panels to pilasters, with a top slab of moulded edge and two white marble recumbent effigies.

Sir Greville Verney (died 1668), probably by Edward Hurst, is commemorated by a Corinthian aedicule in black marble with white marble dressings. A round-headed recess contains an inscribed plinth supporting a portrait bust, with armorial bearings to pilasters and a pediment with two putti and armorial bearing.

John Verney (died 1741) and his wife (died 1760) are memorialised by a veined marble plinth with white inscription panel supporting a strigillated sarcophagus, which bears a medallion with two profile heads set against a grey stele with armorial bearing.

Lady Lewisham (died 1798) and her husband (died 1816) are commemorated by a Greek Revival-style monument by Richard Westmacott Snr in white marble, with inscribed sarcophagus below an inscription panel flanked by panelled pilasters, a festoon above and a plain gable with acroteria; the armorial bearing is missing.

Lord Willoughby de Broke (died 1852) and his wife Margaret (died 1880) are memorialised by a white marble monument by W Hollins of Birmingham, featuring an inscription panel with draped portrait medallion against a grey stele with armorial bearing; a later panel commemorating Margaret was added below.

Eighteenth-century armorial and decorative stained glass remains in the window heads.