Ranters' Lodge, With Enclosing Wall

Ranters' Lodge, also known as The Dead House, is a small cottage with an outbuilding, altered for use as a Methodist chapel. It dates to the late 18th or early 19th century. The buildings are constructed of large squared coursed blocks with felted roofs. The main building, facing north, has a door flanked by openings, with remnants of casements on the south front that opens into a courtyard, and a square opening in the west gable beneath a small stone stack. Raised verges are present. The roof covering has been removed, and temporary felt remains. The interior has been largely gutted. To the south, across a small yard, a smaller building set into the beach slope incorporates three openings at first-floor level above the door and two openings at ground floor. It has a large loading opening at first-floor level to the west with a pair of plank doors, and raised verges. This building is constructed of rubble with a lower roof pitch than the main chapel. A stone retaining wall, approximately 2 metres wide, runs west from the west gable of the chapel, returning to the gable of the second building, all built of good-quality squared Portland stone. The buildings are of historical interest and were apparently abandoned and deteriorating at the time of survey in May 1991. The name “Ranters’ Lodge” derives from a sect of Methodists known for their practices in meetings. The buildings are enclosed within a stone boundary wall set to the slope to the west of Chiswell, behind number 57, which is not included in the listing.