United Reform Church And Former Ministers House

The United Reform Church, with an attached former Ministers House, was built in 1825, with later additions in 1904 and the mid-19th century. The chapel is constructed of squared and coursed limestone with plain freestone dressings, topped with a hipped slate roof. It has a rectangular plan, with a taller block added to the rear in 1904. The original symmetrical three-window facade now incorporates a mid-19th century porch and a left-hand front extension. A central pediment displays the inscription “Tabernacle first erected in 1770. Rebuilt in the year 1825.” The windows are fixed leaded, with a semicircular arch and pointed-arched lights above the pediment. Ground-floor windows on the right side have a transom with three smaller windows underneath, and pointed arches to the lights of the first-floor windows above. A mid-19th century ashlar porch, a lean-to from the platband, features double doors and a four-pane window. The interior includes a stone-flagged porch leading to stairs with stick balusters and turned newels. A tiered gallery, supported by cast-iron columns, retains original pews and a modillion cornice. The interior was altered around 1904 in a late 19th-century style, with a semi-elliptical arch opening to a two-story rear block housing the organ. A dais and steps with turned balusters and newels flank a pulpit with trefoil panels. Tongued-and-grooved panelling extends up to a dado rail. The gallery front boasts a dentilled cornice and recessed panels. The Ministers House is of Flemish-bond brick with a limestone ashlar facade and a slate roof, with a truncated stack to the left gable end. It has a double-depth plan and a symmetrical two-window facade with 6/6-pane sash windows. A blocked semi-elliptical arched carriage entrance features an inscribed edge roll reading "Congregational Church." The left return has 6/6-pane sash windows on both floors. The house is now connected to the chapel via a block. The interior of the house has not been inspected.