Chapel Of The Good Shepherd At Maidstone Prison

Chapel of the Good Shepherd at Maidstone Prison

This is a Gothic Revival prison chapel built in 1910, designed within the Home Office and constructed under the supervision of Thomas Davies, engineer at Maidstone Prison, assisted by Mr Edworthy. It was consecrated on 28 July 1911 by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The building is constructed of concrete blockwork imitating both smooth ashlar and rock-faced stone, with some limestone dressings. This was a relatively innovative technique for the period, employing cast concrete blocks which were attracting renewed interest in the late Edwardian era. Even the window tracery is of concrete, as evidenced by reinforcing bars exposed by spalling concrete.

The chapel is rectangular with a projecting southeast Lady chapel. It is orientated to the south. The plan comprises a nave of eight bays, chancel of two bays, north and south passage aisles, a northeast vestry (internal to the north side of the chancel), southeast Lady chapel, west porch, and small north porch. The nave has plain parapets below which runs a modillion course, with no external indication of the narrow aisles. Straddling the roof ridge are two ventilators with lead-covered bases and timber superstructures under tent-like cappings.

The side windows are Gothic, comprising four lights with intersecting tracery in some windows and others with uncusped circles in the head. The window openings have distinctive glazing bars arranged in a fine mesh of lattice-work, most likely prefabricated cast-iron diamond lattices. The short chancel breaks forward at its centre to house the altar and features a large circular east window with octofoil wooden cusping. The Lady chapel comprises three bays with Y-tracery in the windows.

The spacious interior has plastered and whitewashed walls. The nave is long and wide, flanked by passage aisles on either side. The arcades have square piers with chamfered corners, moulded capitals and bases, and arches with shallow mouldings and no hoods. Half arches rise from corbels to span the aisles. Over the nave is an arch-braced roof of pitch pine springing from corbels in the valleys of the arcades, divided into four tiers with diagonally boarded panels. The aisle roofs are flat. The floor of the nave and aisles is laid with red and natural-coloured square concrete paving. The chancel is raised above the nave and approached by a double flight of nine steps and a moulded arch with semi-circular responds. The side walls of the chancel contain pairs of pointed blind arches. The arch framing the altar recess has a moulded arch and a pair of detached shafts to the responds. The Lady chapel has cream-painted walls, a flat ceiling and two tall blind arches at its east end.

Many of the original pews remain, with shaped ends and elbows. The wooden pulpit has polygonal sides with traceried panels. Stained glass is present in the east windows and in the windows of the Lady chapel.

The chapel was erected in 1910 following the decision to house star class prisoners from 1909 onwards. The existing facilities, which had previously accommodated both men and women, were found insufficient. The building was intended to seat 650, with the main body for male prisoners and the smaller Lady chapel for female prisoners. It was constructed using convict labour. The building employs Gothic style with motifs generally assignable to the 13th century.

The chapel is situated in a central position among the buildings of Maidstone Prison, a number of which are separately listed at Grade II. By the early 21st century, the condition of the building had deteriorated sufficiently that the west window was boarded over due to concerns about possible collapse. The chapel is now used for multi-faith activities.