Capel Salem Hall

Capel Salem Hall is a 19th-century building featuring a classical design with a scribed rendered front. The facade includes a pediment that is broken at the base by a keyblocked giant arch, which contains a large semicircular date plaque. Other classical details include acroteria and a deep cornice, along with a semicircular datestone. The central bay is recessed and has a balustraded apron, featuring a Venetian type window with a tall pediment above the middle light. Below, there are round arched doorways with panelled doors and half round Doric columns. The outer bays are adorned with giant order fluted pilasters and paired round arched headed windows, set on a rusticated base. All windows have glazing bars, and the building is topped with slate roofs.

The left side of the building has five bays that are set into the slope of the hill, featuring giant order fluted pilasters and round arched headed gallery bars on both floors, while the right side mirrors this design. The north gable end is pedimented and features acroteria and corner pilasters, although this detail was originally more visible when the first hall was smaller.

Inside, the hall is two stories high and maintains a similar classical style. It has an open pediment facing Salem Terrace, with round arched headed openings; on the ground floor, two doorways flank two windows. The north side has six bays, with a gable at the end bay nearest the road, and features cement rendered chimney stacks and a lower range at the east end.

The interior is richly decorated in a classical style, with a raked gallery that has a bracket cornice, fluted Ionic pilasters, and an elaborate ribbed ceiling adorned with foliage and arabesque carved panels and roses. The gallery is supported by cast-iron columns made by MacFarlane and Co, Glasgow. An organ is set behind a round arch opening in the end wall, featuring decorative spandrels. The platform has barley twist balusters and ornate panelling for the ‘set fawr’ and an octagonal pulpit. The schoolroom features fluted columns by Pickering of Pwllheli with composite foliage capitals, while the hall has a boarded ceiling with coves and wheel pattern ventilators.