Baptist Chapel is a Grade II listed building in the Mid Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 October 1987.

Baptist Chapel

WRENN ID
sharp-barrel-laurel
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Mid Suffolk
Constituency
Waveney Valley MP: Adrian Ramsay (Green)
Country
England
Date first listed
21 October 1987
Address
Baptist Chapel, Low Road, Fressingfield
OS grid reference
TM 263 774
Coordinates
52.34828, 1.32139
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Baptist Chapel, built in 1835 by George Spratt, who became the first pastor, is a notable red brick structure featuring pilaster strips on each wall and a hipped slated roof. It has a unique elongated hexagonal plan and stands two storeys tall. The chapel includes inset sash windows with glazing bars set under flat brick arches. At the narrow end to the north, there is a small 19th-century brick porch with mid-20th-century glazed doors, and inside the porch, there are a pair of 19th-century panelled doors. To the south, there is a single-storey vestry from the 19th century.

Inside, the chapel has a continuous hexagonal gallery with a plain front and a pulpit positioned opposite the entrance. The lower seating, likely renewed in the late 19th century, contrasts with the original gallery seating, which includes box pews at the north end and open-backed benches along the sides. The interior was altered in the early 1980s to create three Sunday School rooms. Interestingly, a smaller chapel with a similar design was constructed by George Spratt in Friston in 1833. The chapel's coffin-like shape is said to serve as a reminder of the mortality of life.

Local climate

Baptist Chapel sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 88% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 27 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 71% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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