Chapel Of Unity, Methodist College, Belfast, Bt9 6Bq

Chapel of Unity, Methodist College, Belfast

A modernist chapel completed in 1968 within the grounds of Methodist College, South Belfast, designed by Gordon K. McKnight following a limited competition held to mark the school's centenary. The building demonstrates McKnight's distinguished career in Modern Style church design, which he had pursued from the early 1950s for various Protestant denominations across the city and beyond.

The chapel's design is based on a simple, symmetrical form comprising a tall steeply pitched gable to the entrance front, flanked by shallow mono-pitched roofs with flat-roofed clasping arcades to the sides. The overall composition is reputed to emulate praying hands. The exterior displays fine brick detailing at the entrance front, whilst the rear elevation presents a bolder, expressionist character.

Constructed in buff brick of non-standard proportions laid in Flemish bond, the building features eaves and verges expressed in multi-coursed corbelled brick. Roofing comprises natural slate to the pitched elements, with a raised parapet (likely sheet membrane) to flat-roofed sections. Rainwater goods are aluminium with square profile. A smaller hipped-roofed appendage projects to the rear (south-west).

The north-east entrance elevation shows the nave gable flanked by the varied roof forms described above. Twin timber doors—possibly oak—lead through a splayed brick surround with camber-arched head; they bear engraved inscriptions of the school motto "Deus Nobiscum" (God with us) and "Quis Separabit" (Who shall separate us), finished in varnish stain with scallop-edged copper kick plates. A timber crucifix is mounted above the entrance, and a bell is recessed at the gable apex. A heavy painted timber fascia board finishes the mono-pitched roofs, with a stained glass wedge between it and the roof below. Arcaded fenestration to the flat-roofed flanks features splayed buttresses between arches and splayed cills at their bases. A freestanding square plinth with copper statue to the left of the entrance depicts children joining hands in a ring; it was erected by parents in memory of pupils no longer with the school.

The side elevations (north-west and south-east) mirror one another, displaying the tall and shallow pitched roof forms and five arcaded openings to the flat roofs with raised parapets. Arches are formed in two brick header courses. A vertical glazed slot appears to the far right side beyond the flat and mono-pitched roofs. Deep timber eaves boards finish the mono-pitched roofs, with clerestory windows largely concealed behind the parapet. The hipped-roof appendage features a bowed casement window, single-glazed and timber-framed.

The rear (south-west) elevation mirrors the front form, except that the arcaded flat-roofed abutments terminate at either end with sets of round-arched double doors in sheeted timber. The lower hipped roof appendage sits at the nave gable. The upper part of the gable is filled with a polygonal concrete panel comprising vertical ribs with stained glass slots between. A small lean-to abutment was added at the right side at a later date. The south-east elevation shows a recessed opening of full height containing square-headed framed double doors within a plain glass surround, with a honeycomb brick panel to the right.

Windows throughout comprise stained glass Dalle de Verre panels (thick glass shards set in resin-bonded concrete) and single-glazed metal-framed round-arched windows in the style of Crittall.

The building is raised on a plinth with broad steps to the front and paved areas to the rear retained by brick walls. Ramps and steps respond to the natural rise of the school site. Paths in precast concrete slabs surround the chapel, with wider paved areas to the south-west retained by brick walls fitted with tubular metal railings painted black. Concrete slab benches sit to the south-east side. The entrance is flanked by retaining walls with sloped brick recesses.

Despite Methodist College's Methodist origins, the chapel was designed as an ecumenical space, reflecting the school's evolution into a mixed-faith institution. This ethos is expressed internally through the layout of pews, which embrace the dais in a wide "C" plan. Interior ceilings follow the exterior form with slopes, complemented by bespoke timber pews and screens in warm tones. Vibrant stained glass Dalle de Verre panels illuminate the space. All interior elements remain substantially intact.

Overlooking College Gardens, gate pillars and screen walls mid-way along that street roughly align with the chapel's entrance and, although not contemporary with the building, help integrate it within its historic context. The chapel sits between McArthur Hall and Whitla Hall, with a backdrop of modern buildings and open lawns sloping to tree-lined College Gardens.

The chapel forms an important 20th-century addition to Methodist College's other buildings of architectural interest, predominantly from the Victorian era. Together, these structures form an important set-piece within the Queens Conservation Area.

The building was refurbished in 2004. Other notable places of worship by Gordon K. McKnight include Orangefield Presbyterian (1955–57), St Columba's Church of Ireland, Portadown (1970), Knockbreda Combined Church (1971), High Kirk, Ballymena (1976), and Albertbridge Road Congregational Church (1985–86). McKnight also designed the interdenominational chapel at Corrymeela, completed in 1978–79.