Chapel At Rickmansworth Masonic School

The Chapel at Rickmansworth Masonic School is a building constructed between 1928 and 1933 by J.L. Denman as part of the Royal Masonic School for Girls. It is built from plum brick with stone dressings and features a pantiled roof, designed in a Free Byzantine style. The chapel has a long rectangular shape with symmetrical north and south elevations.

The ground floor has projecting passage aisles that include small round-headed windows. At each end, there are entrance porches; the northern porch has a relief ornamented stone architrave, while the southern porch connects to other school buildings. Three nearly full-height canted bays rise from the aisles, each featuring two tall round-headed windows, stone-coped battered buttresses, and gables. Below the stone-coped parapet, there is blind arcading.

On the east and west gable ends, there are short projections that are slightly lower and narrower than the main building. The east side features a 19th-century statue of Chevalier Bartholomew Ruspini set in a sandstone niche, topped by a stone-coped gable with an ornamental apex. The west side has an entrance with an ornamental relief architrave beneath two tall round-headed windows set in a large arched recess.

Inside, the chapel has a six-bay barrel-vaulted nave with a rendered surface that has wavy scoring. There are exposed brick pilaster strips and transverse ribs. The groin-vaulted passage aisles are interrupted by the canted bays, which are open across the aisles. The interior features carved Byzantinate capitals and piers, a gilt interlace frieze, and frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Jesus above the aisle arcades. The round chancel arch has small arched openings at its base, leading to a one-bay chancel with a sail vault and triple arcaded passage aisles.

A low ashlar screen separates the chancel, which has pulpits at each end. The chapel includes carved timber fittings such as seating at the west end, a reredos, and an organ case in the chancel, along with decorative brick paving and stained glass. The chapel is connected by passages to other school buildings that are not listed.