Christ Church

BARNSTAPLE

SS5533SE BEAR STREET 684-1/7/22 (North side) 31/08/88 Christ Church (Formerly Listed as: BEAR STREET (North side) Thorne Memorial Methodist Chapel)

GV II

Methodist chapel, originally built for the Bible Christians. 1875-6. By WC Oliver, who remodelled it and added the tower in 1891-2. Carved woodwork by Harry Hems of Exeter; pulpit by a Mr Gillet. Purplish, coursed and squared stone rubble with horizontal bands of limestone in the tower; coursed and squared slatestone rubble at the back. Details, both front and back, are in limestone, with some polished pink granite at the front. Slated roofs with pierced red ridge-tiles; spire leaded. Plan consists of an oblong galleried chapel with small 5-sided apse at the N end. Foyer at S end, fronting Bear Street; square tower at SW corner. Minister's room contrived in ground storey of apse. 2-stage front to Bear Street in Early English style. In centre is the gabled end of the main chapel range with 3-light Gothic window in each stage, the arches springing from attached columns; window in upper storey has taller central light, the whole set in a shallow recess with pointed arch. Lower sections at each side contain doorways to foyer, 2 on the right and one on the left; these have moulded pointed arches and attached columns of pink granite. Upper stage has 2 windows of 2 lights, with plate tracery on right-hand side; 2-light window with pointed arches springing from attached columns on left-hand side. 3-stage tower with moulded string courses between the stages. Lowest stage has doorway with pointed arch, the latter enclosed by a gabled hood with carved finial. 3-light window in middle stage with similar hoods to each light, the arches springing from attached columns. Uppermost stage has 3 slit windows with pointed arches in each face. Bracketed top cornice, surmounted by parapet with trefoil-headed panels; large square finial at each corner with similar panels. Short spire with patterned leading and gabled ventilator in each face; decorated lightning conductor on top. INTERIOR is of considerable quality. Galleries on all 4 sides carried on cast-iron columns with foliated capitals. Gallery fronts have enriched openwork cast-iron panels. Further columns rise to support the roof, with decorative cast-iron brackets rising to the wall-plates. Roof has arch-braced trusses combined with trussed common rafters. Elaborately carved pulpit at N end with fluted and twisted columns flanking open Gothic panels; 3 good chairs underneath with Gothic decoration. At E end a wooden screen dividing off the foyer; upper panels with trefoiled arches and coloured glass. In gallery above it an organ of 1880. The Church Hall of 1939, which adjoins the chapel on the E, is not included in the listing. (Leaflet on history of chapel).

Listing NGR: SS5598833344