Carmel Independent Chapel

Carmel Independent Chapel was built in 1880. It is a two-storey building with a three-bay, pedimented front made of coursed, rock-faced Pennant stone, featuring rock-faced stone dressings. The roof is covered with 20th-century imitation slates, and has painted wooden bargeboards. A moulded stone cornice runs beneath the pediment, above which is a date plaque and an upper roundel vent with keystones. The first-floor windows are arched and have keystones and stone sills; the central window is a Palladian design with corniced narrow side lights. All windows have small-paned glazing with marginal glazing bars, and protective clear plastic sheets are attached to the frames. A moulded stone band separates the floors. The ground-floor windows are similar to those above. A large arched doorway, with a keystone, panelled double doors, and a large radiating bar fanlight, is centrally positioned. The side walls each have five windows to each floor; the north side has uPVC windows, while the south side has original timber windows similar to the facade, although the ground-floor windows here are square-headed. The stone band and cornice continue along the side walls, but are unpainted. A vestry has been added to the rear.

The interior is broad, with a four-sided gallery, a very large pipe organ, and excellent woodwork. The gallery is supported by four marble-painted columns, and has a projecting, deep bracketed cornice. The gallery front features long horizontal moulded panels, shorter panels in the canted angles, and a moulded top rail. A clock faces the pulpit. The fine, large pulpit has two stairways with half-landings, ornate turned balusters, and ball-finial newels. The pulpit platform is stepped outward with balustraded rails leading to a two-panelled pulpit front, which has deeply moulded arches on columns and a dentilled top rail. Below the pulpit is a recessed base with stop-chamfered vertical panels and deep skirting. Plain close-boarding is behind the pulpit, up to the gallery, with half-glazed doors on either side leading to the vestry and a pump room. The grand organ, by Norman & Beard of London and Norwich, extends the width of the gallery, featuring highly decorative painted pipes in three main pipe fronts, with two narrower ones in between, and Gothic panelling below. A three-sided great seat has canted angles and diagonally-boarded panels within square, stop-chamfered surrounds. Pews are arranged in three blocks; the centre block has a partition down the middle, and the gallery pews are raked. The coved plaster ceiling is subdivided by painted wooden mouldings, featuring a border with an inner border containing nine square, pierced vent panels, and a plain main panel. The entrance lobby has 20th-century tiles and single-panelled doors leading to the chapel. Staircases to the gallery have half-landings with single doors at the turn.