United Reformed Church

NEEDHAM MARKET HIGH STREET (EAST) TM 0854

3/109 United Reformed Church (formerly listed as 9.12.55 Congregational Chapel)

• II

Church, built as a Congregational Chapel in 1837. In the Greek Revival Style. Gable front. Gault brick facade with dressings of limestone. The side walls are of red brick. Slated roof. 2 storeys, 5 windows. A central portico in antis has Ionic Columns supporting a simple cornice and a string at 1st floor level. Above is a slight set-forward 3 bays wide. A full-width gable pediment has moulded limestone copings and a central oeil-de-boeuf window, stone framed. The 1st storey windows to the balcony are of strongly Vitruvian form with a cornice above each; leaded stained glass in the Art Nouveau style. Entrance doorways flank the portico, with broad paired flat pilasters and deep cornice, a pair of 3-panelled doors with oblong fanlight. Further similar doors within the portico. The facade returns for one bay only. A short timber-framed range to rear has a steeply-pitched plaintiled roof and may be a fragment of the earlier chapel on this site, built in 1716 and enlarged 1818. In 1755, the Rev. Joseph Priestly, discoverer of oxygen, was appointed Minister here.

Listing NGR: TM0892254960