Apsley Hall

Apsley Hall is a former Independent/Congregational Chapel, dating to 1833, with alterations made in 1888 and during the 20th century. It now serves as a mental health resource centre. The front elevation is constructed of limestone ashlar, while the sides are of coursed squared limestone. The Welsh slate roof is gabled, with one reconstituted stone stack on the right slope.

The front facade is two storeys high, with a half-basement and a three-window range. The first floor features two 6/6-pane sash windows within moulded stone architraves, incorporating a pulvinated frieze and cornice, with stone cills supported on brackets. Centrally, a 3/3-pane, horned sash window is set within a similar architrave, its height reduced to accommodate a porch below. The ground floor mirrors the first, with two 6/6-pane sashes enclosed in matching architraves. A Doric porch is centrally positioned, featuring a pair of columns on a high plinth, leading up to a pair of six-panel doors. Below the porch, paired 2/2-pane sash windows with horns, featuring timber mullions in plain reveals and stone cills, illuminate the basement. A band course runs above the ground floor, leading to broad flat pilasters. A moulded stone cornice with a shallow pediment sits centrally, topped with a blocking course. Inscribed into the frieze are the words “TO THE MEMORY OF OUR GLORIOUS DEAD 1914-1919” and, on the porch frieze, “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.” Tablets on the pilasters, each flanking a Roll of Honour, are enclosed within moulded stone architraves and supported on simple brackets. A metal plate above the doors within the porch reads: “THIS HALL WAS GIVEN BY EARL BATHURST AND WAS ALTERED TO ITS PRESENT PURPOSE BY SUBSCRIPTION FROM THE EARL AND COUNTESS AND THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN AND DISTRICT AS A THANK OFFERING FOR THE VICTORY WON AND FOR PEACE.”

The side elevations contain 19th and 20th-century sash windows. Two small, single-storey extensions dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, along with a 20th-century lift tower constructed of reconstituted stone, are located at the rear and right side of the building. A curved ramp on the right side provides access to the ground floor from the pavement.

The interior, inspected only on the ground floor, presents a wholly 20th-century appearance and is reportedly similar on the upper floors.

Built in 1833 on land leased from Lord Bathurst, the chapel was converted into a public hall, known as Apsley Hall, by Lord Bathurst in 1888. A war memorial was added to the front around 1919. In 1921, it was given to the Memorial Hospital, subsequently becoming the Cirencester Memorial Centre and, in 1990, a mental health resource centre.