Former Rook Lane Congregational Chapel

The Former Rook Lane Congregational Chapel, built in 1707 and later altered, features an ashlar front with two tiers of seven windows. It has a moulded plinth, cornice, parapet, and a central pediment that spans five windows. The building includes a string course and moulded quoins, with arched window openings that have quoined and eaved architraves, as well as bracketed cills and patterned cast iron window bars. The central doorway is framed by an open pediment with a bolection surround, and the pediment break is decorated with an urn and flames. In 1862, side lobbies were added in a matching style to provide gallery stairs and entrances, resulting in the blocking of the central doorway, which still bears the painted admonition "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God" on the lintel. The lobbies feature segment-headed doors with eaved architraves and circular lights above, also with eaved architraves. The chapel has a hipped modern tile roof with a central weathervane and an ornamental gas lamp on the corner. The rear of the building was extended in 1862. Inside, there are two large central columns on fluted bases supporting a Doric entablature. The gallery, which is top-lit and extends on three sides, shows evidence of a domed roof structure that remains intact. Locally, this chapel is said to have been known as "The Cupola."