Disused Chapel At Sx 669 889

This is a disused chapel that was later converted into a cow byre, dating from the 13th or 14th century. The chapel was no longer in use by 1332. It is believed that in the 16th or 17th century, the west end was demolished, shortening the building for its conversion to a byre. However, it has been completely unused for over a century and now contains mature oak trees. The structure is built of large blocks of roughly-dressed granite, tending towards ashlar, with massive quoins. The west end has been rebuilt with granite stone rubble, and there is no roof.

The building is small and gable-ended, oriented on an east-west axis. It features a small rectangular window in the east end, another towards the east end of the north wall, and a third is assumed to be opposite in the south wall, although a doorway has been knocked through in that location. The original entrance is thought to have been at the west end, which has since been demolished and replaced with a new west wall. The Reverend J Rawson suggests that this small building is the remains of the chapel of La Wallen, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was desecrated in 1332 when the clerk Robert de Middlecotte committed a murder there. The alignment, construction, and arrangement of the windows resemble those of a small chapel, and it is likely not coincidental that the nearby farmhouse is named Chapple.