Tabernacle Congregational Church

Tabernacle Congregational Church

A Congregational Church in Gothic style, dated 1811-1867. The building presents a large gable end facade in rock-faced squared grey limestone with Bath stone tracery. The facade is dominated by a broad centre gable with shouldered coping, flanked by a pair of projecting narrow towers that rise to roof level. The left tower is capped with a small spire, while the right tower bears a low gable. The roof is of slate, with rendered sides and rear walls.

The centre gable features a wrought iron gable finial. A string course defines a false parapet following the line of the gable coping, with a stone finial at its apex. Below this runs a Bath stone quatrefoiled roundel vent, under which is a Bath stone ribbon scroll inscribed '1811 Tabernacle 1867'.

The focal point of the facade is a large centrally positioned ornately traceried pointed window in Bath stone, featuring two-colour stone voussoirs. The five-light tracery contains three roundels in the heads, each decorated with four-pointed star tracery. A Bath stone flush band marks the impost level, with a moulded string course below.

At ground floor level stand a pair of Bath stone twin projecting Gothic doorcases, each with a coped gable and fleur de lys finials. Integral buttresses flank each side, with an additional projecting buttress from the centre pier. Some grey stone inserts break the pier faces. The archways are pointed and chamfered, containing double doors with diagonal boarding and cast-iron hinges, shouldered heads, and pointed overlights with quatrefoil-roundels in cast-iron tracery.

The towers feature stepped diagonal buttresses rising in three steps above the impost level of the main window, with Bath stone quoins and setoffs marking each stage. At ground floor, each tower contains a narrow two-light pointed window with two-colour voussoirs and a string course above at the level of the main window sill course. The first floor of each tower holds a narrow cusped lancet with two-colour voussoirs, topped by a flush Bath stone band at the level of the main impost band. The top stage of each tower contains a small lancet with two-colour voussoirs, flush Bath stone impost band, and Bath stone quoins.

The left tower terminates in a Bath stone spire with a stone splayed base positioned just above the level of the main gable coping. The spire features an octagonal bell-stage with plain louvred lancets and a moulded string course beneath a steep octagonal spire. Grey stone inserts appear in the spire, along with tiny dummy lucarnes and a small iron cross finial at the apex.

The right tower continues higher than the gable coping to a shouldered coped gable with an iron finial and a small louvred roundel within the gable, finished with a saddleback slate roof. A similar gable appears on the south side.

The side walls of the chapel are rendered, with a basement below the plinth. Above basement level are two storeys, each containing five pointed windows with wooden Y-tracery and stone sills. A two-storey lean-to adjoins the windowless south end wall, containing two pointed windows over two square-headed windows with a centre door between them.

The interior features plastered walls and a broad three-sided, five-bay ceiling divided by ribs into panels decorated with applied large concave-sided lozenges. Half-lozenges appear in the smaller end panels. Two roses and three vents punctuate the flat panels. The north end contains a Tudor-arched recess over the large north window, which features early 20th-century coloured leaded glazing.

A three-sided gallery with curved angles at both ends spans the interior. The gallery front comprises long panels with Gothic cast-iron tracery of trefoils, divided by pilasters with a centre roundel, leaf capital, and chamfered and stopped sides. Seven cast-iron columns with leaf-pattern capitals support the gallery structure. Pews are arranged in three blocks with low doors, roundel-topped bench ends, and panelled backs.

The north end contains a three-sided lobby with Tudor-arched doors in each canted side and two small pointed windows with early 20th-century leaded glazing in the centre. The lobby floor is tiled, with a right-angled staircase ascending to the gallery, which contains raked pews.

The south end platform features panelled newels with finials and cast-iron scrolled rails, curved at the angles. Upon the platform stands a pulpit with short balustraded steps flanking the front, displaying two-panel projected centre, single panels each side, Gothic panels, angle shafts, and a moulded top cornice. Behind the pulpit sits a large organ with painted pipes by Peter Conacher & Co. of Huddersfield, housed in a Gothic timber case. A marble plaque commemorates Reverend David Salmon, who died in 1877. Behind the chapel in the lean-to is a first-floor minister's room accessed by stairs descending to a basement hall with five plain cast-iron columns supporting ceiling beams.