United Reformed Church is a Grade II* listed building in the Braintree local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 March 1986. Church. 2 related planning applications.
United Reformed Church
- WRENN ID
- twisted-bronze-twilight
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Braintree
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 March 1986
- Type
- Church
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The United Reformed Church is a Congregational church built between 1752 and 1753, with alterations made in the 19th century. It is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, featuring blue brick dressings, and has a roof made of handmade red clay tiles. The church has a rectangular plan that faces southeast and includes an early 19th-century vestry at the rear. Although it is one storey high, it appears to be two storeys externally due to the former presence of a gallery.
The façade has a three-window range of cross windows, with the ground floor windows having segmental arches made of red brick, while the upper windows have flat heads made of alternating red and blue bricks. There are double six-panel doors that project slightly in a shallow gabled porch, which has a flat brick arch and a ball finial added in 1895. Above the door, there is a recessed stone tablet inscribed with 'Bvilded circa 1700, restored 1895', although the earlier date is incorrect. A string course runs at the first-floor level, and there is plaster coving below the eaves. The roof is hipped, and there is an inscription on the right return that reads 'T. Brown 1752', likely made by the master mason.
On the rear elevation, there are two altered half-height windows with seven lights and semi-circular heads. The interior was originally designed with the pulpit on the long northwest wall and galleries on the other three sides. In 1895, the pulpit was relocated to the short southwest wall, and the galleries were removed, resulting in the blocking of the windows on the southwest wall. A marble tablet commemorating the Reverend William Kemp from 1844 is located on the southwest wall.
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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.