Berkeley'S Hospital: Chapel

WORCESTER

SO8455SE THE FOREGATE 620-1/12/612 (West side) 22/05/54 Berkeley's Hospital: Chapel (Formerly Listed as: FOREGATE (West side) Berkeley's Hospital (North and South ranges with gateway and Chapel at West end)

GV I

Chapel. Dated 1703 above entrance, with later restorations. Endowed by Robert Berkeley. Reddish-orange brick in Flemish bond with ashlar plinth (renewed), quoins and architraves; plain tile roof, splayed and hipped. Single tall storey, 4 windows. Moulded plinth, quoins to full height. Central entrance: double 10-raised-and-fielded-panel door with L-hinges; bolection moulded architrave and dated keystone between pilasters with acanthus corbel brackets to cornice, pulvinated frieze and broken segmental pediment with coat of arms. Above a statue of Robert Berkeley in round-arched niche. Round-arched windows with tooled architraves and keystones, moulded sills. Band over windows. Modillion cornice with curvilinear modillion 'pediment' and crowning cupola. Rear: 3 straight-headed windows in tooled architraves, one similar window to west end; to east end a round-arched window; windows have coloured glass. INTERIOR: plain, with quarry tile floor. HISTORICAL NOTE: the almshouses (qv) and Chapel were endowed by Robert Berkeley of Spetchley in 1692 for 12 poor men. The Chapel occupies the west side of a courtyard with Berkeley's Hospital: almshouses, gate lodges, piers and gates (qv) to other sides, forming an important example of Renaissance planning and one of the finest almshouse groups in England.