Church of England Chapel at Ford Park Cemetery

Church of England Chapel at Ford Park Cemetery

This chapel is built of snecked grey Devon limestone with Caen stone dressings, set on a granite plinth and roofed with slate and coped gables.

The building follows a single-cell plan with a large integral porte-cochère at the west end. The exterior is divided into four bays by buttresses. The north and south elevations are identical, each containing two east bays with two-light Decorated tracery windows (the easternmost of which is blocked) and a central west bay that is blind. The wider west-end bay features a large double-chamfered two-centred arch to the porte-cochère, above which sits a quatrefoil vent. Diagonal buttresses support tall, crocketed pinnacles with gargoyles. The gabled west end has a large two-centred double arch with a crocketed hood moulding and a foliated finial at the apex. Beneath this sits an angel corbel supporting a polygonal stone base for a bell-turret on the west face, itself braced by buttresses to north and south (this bell-turret, which replaced an earlier spire, was removed in the early 21st century during repair work). The central arch is flanked by two blind traceried single-light windows and stepped buttresses. Within the porte-cochère, the west entrance has a Caen stone two-centred arch with hood mould and double timber vertical plank doors hung internally on wrought iron pintels. The external strap hinges are wrought iron with ornate foliate designs; the top two are original, while the bottom two are replicas installed in the early 21st century after the originals were lost during the 20th century. The east end features a large three-light Decorated tracery window flanked by buttresses. All windows and arches throughout have arched hood moulds with decorative label stops. The windows contain lozenge leaded lights to the top and rectangular leaded lights to the lower panes. A moulded drip course runs around the entire exterior immediately below cill level.

The interior contains three bays. The roof is arch-braced with four principal trusses and three intermediate trusses, all displaying a central cusped quatrefoil at the apex, two flanking trefoils, and open chamfered spandrels. The principal trusses are carried on stone angle corbels while the intermediate trusses rest on the wall plate. The side elevations contain identical window arrangements: two blind traceried windows in the end bays and an open window in the centre. At the east end, the three-light traceried window is flanked by blind traceried windows. Beneath all these windows hangs a civilian Second World War memorial plaque commemorating people from Plymouth who lost their lives in air raids; this plaque was added in the early 21st century. Behind the plaque remain traces of original painted decoration, including the biblical text "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life saith the Lord" within a black painted frame. Three monuments stand on the north wall. The floor is laid with stone slabs. The seating and altar were added in the early 21st century.