Brunswick Methodist Church And The Brunswick Room

Brunswick Methodist Church and the Brunswick Room are a Methodist chapel and attached meeting rooms built in 1891-2. They were designed by Waddington and Son of Manchester and are constructed from coursed stone with ashlar dressings, and have a slate roof with raised coped gables, kneelers and finials. The building is in a Free Romanesque style. It consists of a rectangular nave with gallery and transepts, a western porch, and a north-west tower. The west front features a projecting triple arched porch, accessed by steps on either side, with rounded arches, the central one divided by a pair of columns and topped by a gable. There are double doors within round headed doorways. Above is a large round arch with three round headed windows, flanked by taller windows, and topped with a broad gable. The octagonal tower has a projecting three-light bow window with tracery at its base. Alternate faces of the tower have tall round headed bell openings, each topped by further two-light round headed openings with a gable and a squat stone spire. The north nave front has four round headed windows with four similar windows below. The transepts each have two similar two-light windows, with a dividing buttress and gable. A two-story wing extends beyond the transepts, with a bowed north front featuring two-light mullion windows.

The chapel interior features a first-floor U-plan gallery supported on octagonal iron columns with panelled fronts and original pews. The ceiling is a good quality ornate plaster. Ground floor pews, dado panelling, and a recessed organ in a wooden case to the east are also present, along with a wooden reading desk and a wood and iron altar rail. Stained glass windows are incorporated. The Brunswick Room’s interior is distinguished by fine faience tiles covering all the walls, featuring Renaissance style bands and panels. It has a western gallery, carved wooden dado panelling, and a fine wooden roof. An eastern niche accommodates an organ, flanked by painted tile panels. The Pannet Room shares similar faience tile decoration.

The buildings represent an extremely complete and well-preserved example of a Methodist Chapel, notable for its unique attached meeting rooms. The Brunswick Room and the adjacent Pannet Room are largely covered in high-quality faience tiling, a rare and outstanding feature of considerable scale and quality. Combined with the well-preserved church, this contributes to their exceptional importance.