Horeb Chapel

This is a classical-style chapel built with snecked, rock-faced sandstone, with dressings and quoins of Bath stone, rusticated for emphasis. The chapel was constructed in the 18th century and demonstrates group value as a notable example of its type. The front is arranged with three bays, the central bay recessed under an elliptical archway, known as a glorification arch. The entrance has a round-headed doorway with double panelled doors and a round overlight featuring Y-tracery. Above the doorway is an engraved tablet commemorating the chapel’s construction, and a three-light window with an elliptical head and pointed lights arranged in a circular tracery pattern. An oculus, with a quatrefoil opening, sits above the glorification arch. The outer bays of the front have tall, round-headed windows, each with two pointed lights and Y-tracery. The moulded verge incorporates a small, low-relief trefoil frieze. A foundation tablet is located below the left-hand window.

The right side wall features four tall, round-headed windows with pointed lights and Y-tracery, typical of the main chapel area. The jambs of these windows are rusticated with Bath stone, but the arches are plain. Attached to the right of the chapel is a two-story vestry, built of similar stonework but using slightly smaller, browner stones. The upper story of the vestry has two round-headed windows, similar to the main chapel’s, but with rusticated heads. The left side wall mirrors the right, but beyond the main chapel, the added vestry has a segmental-headed doorway on the lower level, with a replaced door and a blocked window to its left. Above and further left, a round-headed doorway at a higher level provides access from the street behind, with a replaced door and overlight, flanked by two round-headed windows; these windows have plain heads and are likely reused from the original rear wall of the chapel.

The interior vestibule contains late 19th-century details. Directly opposite the entrance doorway is a segmental-headed glazed panel with coloured glass and margin lights. A staircase with turned balusters leads to a boarded gallery. Half-lit doors on either side of the glazed panel lead into the main chapel. The ceiling is boarded and ribbed, with a central rose and panels depicting foliage. The original three-sided raked gallery has plain cast iron columns with trumpet capitals, and a front featuring blind fretwork panels. Above the pulpit, a semi-circular arch supports a panelled screen, which can be removed to create a stage for choirs, positioned directly opposite the organ in the gallery; the stage is edged with cast iron cresting.

The polygonal pulpit, dated 1929, features fielded panels and steps on either side, with square panelled newels and moulded balusters. It’s flanked by square panelled columns with urn finials, likely related to an earlier pulpit. A late 19th-century low rail encloses the baptistery in front of the pulpit, featuring cast iron columns with foliage sprays and a moulded wooden hand rail. Panelled doors to the right and left of the pulpit lead to the two-story vestry.