Castlehold Baptist Church

Castlehold Baptist Church

Baptist church built around 1812, enlarged and refronted in 1872.

The church is constructed with Gault brick and stucco detailing on its front elevation. The side elevations are partially covered with concrete render, while the rear is faced in brick of various bonds. The main roof is covered in tile.

The building has a roughly rectangular footprint orientated south to north. The late 19th-century south front elevation is wider than the main body of the church and occupies the full width of the plot facing the High Street. The rear footprint is also slightly wider than the main body, and a mid-20th-century addition is attached to the north-west corner.

The front elevation facing the High Street is two storeys tall, topped by a large pediment. The church is five bays wide and is set back from the pavement behind cast iron railings enclosing a concrete-covered courtyard. The elevation is primarily faced with Gault brick with stucco decorative details. The first four bays are raised on two steps above the courtyard level, forming a stylobate. The fifth bay is at pavement level, corresponding with the original east passageway. The elevation is flanked by two Giant order Corinthian pilasters at either end, with four engaged Corinthian columns delineating the bays. The central three bays project forward slightly from the line of the rest of the elevation, while the two end bays are slightly narrower. On the ground floor, each bay has a door surmounted by a round-headed arch with a fanlight and enlarged keystone. The three central bays have double doors with fielded and recessed panels at their lower level and a round-headed glazed opening above. The two side bays have single doors with four fielded and recessed panels. The fifth bay has an additional small rectangular panel between the door and fanlight with two fielded and recessed panels. A moulded string course runs across the elevation between the Corinthian engaged columns at first-floor level. Within each bay sits a recessed round-headed window opening with moulded stucco dressings, housing a four-over-four sash window bordered by narrower panes of coloured glass. Below each window is a short decorative balustrade. Above the second-floor windows is a large entablature comprising a plain architrave and frieze with a cornice decorated with dentils and modillions. Extending across the central three bays above the cornice is a triangular pediment.

The south end of the side elevations is covered with concrete render. The western elevation has visible recessed windows with block cills at first-floor level, with six panes bordered by narrower panes. The east side of the main body has further windows, though this elevation is partially obscured by adjacent buildings. The north end is faced in red brick of various bonds. The principal west elevation at this end is largely blank. The principal north elevation is faced in stretcher bond brick and includes a narrow ground-floor window flanked by pairs of larger six-over-six horned sashes. Above are two further pairs of first-floor sashes, all under segmental arches. At the top is a central arched shallow recess. A further bay to the east, where the rear widens, includes horned-sash windows on both floors of its south side, further windows in various styles, and an external metal staircase attached to the east. The long-pitched roof extends to a lower level over the wider north-east corner. An L-shaped two-storey extension is attached to the north-west corner, faced in brick and hung slate with horned sash windows, under pitched and flat roofs.