Widcombe Baptist Church, With Raised Pavement And Railings

Widcombe Baptist Church, with raised pavement and railings

A Baptist chapel with ancillary rooms and extensions on Pulteney Road in Widcombe. The building was originally erected in 1820 as a chapel for an Independent congregation with liturgical services. It passed to Baptist use in 1849 when the original proprietors failed. Large extensions were added in the early 20th century (1910), and the interior underwent extensive modification with additional accommodation added around 1980.

The chapel is constructed of limestone ashlar with slate and tile roofs. The original structure comprises a large square galleried hall, originally entered from the north with the platform and reading desk positioned at the south end. The early 20th-century additions consist of a large unit of offices and rooms accessed from Pulteney Road, with a connecting wing inserted between the two parts. Around 1980 the interior was reorganised, with the principal entrance moved to the south side through a large single-storey extension containing a foyer and rooms, and the platform and reading desk relocated to the north end.

The north front is arranged in two storeys with a regular pattern of three windows on each level. All twelve windows are twelve-pane sashes with margin panes and intersecting bars in pointed heads. Each window has raised plat surrounds, continued as a full-width sill band at first-floor level. At ground floor are two pointed doorways in splayed and raised surrounds, each with a pair of panelled doors set into an arch. The stone pavement extends above basement walling constructed of heavy squared blocks, which contains two grilled openings and a blocked doorway. A small plinth runs the length of the facade, with shallow square pilasters at the centre and each end featuring sunk panels at two levels with cusped heads. The central pilaster rises from a stepped band set between the central ground-floor windows. Cut into the ashlar across the central pilaster is the inscription in sans-serif lettering "Ebenezer Baptist Chapel" with the date 1820. A frieze with lintel, cornice, and crenellated parapet complete the north elevation.

The east end wall is in ashlar with a cavetto cornice. The west wall has an ashlar parapet above squared and coursed walling, with a single pointed sash centrally at the upper level. Much of the east wall is now concealed by later works. The west wall adjoins Nos 5-7 Ebenezer Terrace. Large additions positioned adjacent to Pulteney Road include a small corner octagonal bay with inscription panels recording the setting of foundation stones on 22 September 1910. The south front, now the principal entrance, features a single-storey extension with a hipped roof in a distinctly contrasted late 20th-century design. Above this rise four pointed sashes identical to those on the north elevation, with two blocked lights at the west end. A slight cavetto cornice, blocking course, and parapet finish this elevation. The pyramidal slated roof carries large painted slogans on each face, including "We have redemption through His blood" on the north side.

The interior retains galleries on three sides with panelled fronts and brass rails, unified by a continuous moulded cornice with acorn dentils. The east and west galleries are supported on Batty Langley slender cluster columns with bands in wood, while the south gallery rests on more sturdy plain shafts. The gallery formerly continued across the north end before the late 20th-century reordering. The altar and reading desk to the north stand on a raised platform with steps on each side and an arcaded front of late 19th-century design. A large central ceiling panel and moulded cornice enhance the interior. The south wall contains a broad pier internally at its centre. The main floor is now carpeted with chairs, though benches remain in the galleries. An organ is positioned in the south-west corner. A stone open well staircase with stick balustrade and polished handrail is located to the right of the main block, opening from the new foyer space.

A raised pavement crossing the north end is contained by a continuous simple iron railing, which extends through to Pulteney Road at the outer end. Beneath the chapel lie twenty numbered rows of former burial vaults, together with some early 19th-century monuments.