Women'S Institute Hall Including Forecourt Area Wall, Gate Piers And Gate

ST ERVAN RUMFORD SW 87 SE 3/181 Women's Institute Hall including forecourt area wall, gate-piers and gate

GV II

Methodist chapel, now used as Women's Institute hall. Circa 1830. Slate rubble, with slate wing west front. Rag slate hipped roof with red clay ridge tiles. Plan: Single cell rectangular on plan with the entrance at the west end and rostrum at the east end of the auditorium which has no gallery. Stell mentions a "slight front extension although there is apparently only one building phase and the existing is the original front. Exterior: Simple storey. The slate hung west front has 2 tall narrow pointed arch windows with slate cills and fixed light 8-pane windows, the top panes are coloured glass. Central tall narrow pointed arch doorway with deeply recessed plank double doors and blind tympanum above. There is a window on both the north and south side elevation towards the east end; the north window is an early C19 24-pane sash with a segmental red brick arch, the south window is a fixed light 12-pane window with a wooden lintel; both have slate cills. The east elevation is blind. Interior: The auditorium has a flat plastered ceiling with a simple moulded frieze of small trefoils. The benches have been removed, but the back of the rostrum at the east end remains; it has pointed arch panels. The match-board dado is later. One memorial on the north wall to Paul Strongman who died in 1897. Including the forecourt area wall; slate rubble with pitched slate capping; the forecourt has a splayed front with small granite monolith gate-piers at the centre, with pyramidal tops and simple late C19 wrought-iron gate, the intersecting shafts looped over the top rail. The gateway leads to a small flight of slate steps up to the west door of the chapel. In the vestry of St Ervan Methodist Chapel qv at Rumford, there is a tablet inscribed "Methodist Chapel 1830". The tablet probably came from this chapel. Source: Stell, C. Draft of RCHM Inventory of Non-conformist chapels.

Listing NGR: SW8972570182