Harleston United Reformed Church and church hall

Harleston United Reformed Church and Church Hall

This is a Congregational chapel originally built in 1819, refronted and extended by architect Edward Boardman in 1886, with an associated church hall added to the rear in 1906.

The church is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with hipped slate roofs. It is roughly rectangular in plan, oriented east-west with its main entrance facing east towards Mendham Lane. The interior contains a double-height nave with an overlooking gallery. Three late-19th-century extensions were added to the west elevation: two single-storey extensions at the north-west and south-west corners, and a canted apse.

The front elevation facing Mendham Lane was refronted by Boardman in 1886, as evidenced by a colour change in the brickwork on the side elevations. The facade is symmetrical with five bays across two storeys. The central three bays feature channelled brickwork at ground floor level, a moulded red brick stringcourse, and a modillioned pediment containing a central oeil-de-boeuf window with hexafoil tracery. Both front and side elevations have single-pane timber sash windows with margins and moulded brick surrounds at ground and first floor levels. The outer bays of the front elevation contain double-height round-headed timber sash windows with margins that light internal stair halls. A central square-headed double-leaf timber-panelled door with moulded brick surround and pediment marks the main entrance. The rear elevation displays the two single-storey late-19th-century extensions and the canted apse, which has a blocked window opening on its south bay.

The interior features a central reception hall at the east end with symmetrical stair halls opening north and south, providing access to the ground-floor nave and first-floor gallery. The nave contains late-19th-century fixed pews arranged in a wide central aisle and narrow side aisles. An early-20th-century organ by Norman and Beard Limited stands in the south-west corner. The west wall features a canted apse within a segmental-headed opening on foliated pilasters, illuminated by a late-20th-century rooflight. A late-19th-century pulpit with integrated clock stands at the junction of the church and apse on a stepped carpeted dais, bounded to the east by a timber communion rail on scrolled cast-iron supports. The canted U-plan gallery has a pierced foliated cast-iron balustrade beneath a timber handrail and is fitted with late-19th-century raked timber benches. Cast-iron columns support the gallery over the nave, with two additional cast-iron columns supporting a corniced beam at the junction of the 1819 building and the 1886 extension. The church retains late-19th-century timber panelling, ornate tiling, and timber-framed half-glazed doors throughout.

The church hall, built in 1906, is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with pitched slate roofs. It is L-shaped in plan, comprising a double-height hall on an east-west axis, a two-storey classroom in the north-east corner, and a range of single-storey rooms extending west. The building is accessed via a gabled porch on the east elevation with a double-leaf timber-panelled door in a pointed-arch surround. The north and east elevations have timber-framed casement windows, while larger casement windows light the south elevation. A large pointed-arch tracery window is positioned on the west elevation. The interior is a large double-height space with an ornate cast-iron fireplace in the north-west corner and four half-glazed doors along the north wall (some boarded over) providing access to smaller single-storey rooms. The north-east room is two storeys in height, with a replacement handrail to the ground floor section of stairs, original balusters and handrail to the first floor, and cast-iron fireplaces in the south-west corner at both ground and first floor levels. The hall retains early-20th-century timber flooring and wall panelling throughout, including some integrated timber cupboards. A late-20th-century single-storey toilet extension was added to the south-east corner.

To the north of the church stands an 18th-century red-brick wall extending east to Mendham Lane, against which 15 gravestones dated between 1802 and 1865 are positioned. A section of late-18th or early-19th-century red brick wall extends from the south-east corner of the church to Mendham Lane and is included in this listing. Early-20th-century and later outbuildings and a toilet block to the north-west of the church hall are excluded from the listing.