Wokingham Baptist Church

Wokingham Baptist Church, built around 1860 by Poulton and Woodman of Reading, is an example of eclectic Victorian architecture. It is constructed of banded brick with Portland stone dressings and a slate roof. The church is laid out in an L-shape, with an apsidal northeast end and a gable facing the road. A lower meeting hall adjoins it on the right. The building is one and two storeys high, incorporating a mezzanine level.

The front elevation demonstrates symmetry, featuring a five-bay central projecting gable with a pediment rising above one bay, flanked by two bays on each side. The brick plinth is topped by a stone impost band, with moulded brick and stone string courses above the door arches and a continuous stone cill band and plat band at the upper window level. Moulded stone and brick architraves frame the windows and doors, and the pediment features dentiled details, antifixae, and an acroterion, with a keyed oculus in the tympanum pierced with four circular openings.

The centre gable features five round-headed single-light windows with square and circular pattern glazing, set within round stone arches and keystones. Below are three pairs of boarded entry doors with matching glazed overlights, also framed by round brick and stone voussoir arches. The flanking sides mirror this design, but use single-light windows instead of doors, again with similar glazing and arches. To the right, set back, is a one-storey meeting hall in the same style, with dentilled eaves and three windows at the upper level. A single planked entrance door sits below, featuring a flat stone lintel and overlight with circular glazing.

The main hall's interior has five bays, with pilasters starting at window level, a plain string course, and moulded heads. The ceiling features a plain cornice and is coffered. The apsidal sanctuary includes a moulded, ribbed arch on springers, flanked by pairs of carved brackets with leaf decoration. A wooden panelled pulpit, with ornamental carvings, is positioned in front of the arch, with curved wooden staircases providing access on either side, complete with plain handrails, newels with moulded heads and spiked tops. A panelled gallery occupies the southwest end at mezzanine level, with a portion cantilevered on closely spaced carved wooden brackets and another portion supported by five slim iron columns with acanthus leaf capitals. An organ, housed in a panelled case with exposed gilded pipes, is located at this level.