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Summary

Site of a mid 19th century chapel which was demolished in 1985.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1107714: CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS54SW/69
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 98476

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CONGREGATIONAL CHAPEL (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Congl. Chap.' shown. Map object based on this source.

Department of Environment, 1985, West Down, 122 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV340802.

Chapel and Sunday School attached, mid 19th century, Sunday School dated 1873 on plaque. Roughcast-rendered rubble with ashlar dressings. Slate roofs with gable ends. Two parallel gable-ended ranges, the chapel to left and schoolroom to right with staircase towards east end to attic storey. South side of chapel has 3-pointed arched 2-light windows with Y tracery. Two small round windows with Star of David glazing pattern to each end, that at west end above 2 pointed arched windows with Y tracery flanking pointed arched doorway. Similar arrangement at east end of schoolroom but also with foundation plaque above door. North side has 2 half dormer sashes 2 over 2 panes at west end above 2 pointed arch windows with 20th century casements on each floor at east end. Marble wall monument by Mr Youings of Barnstaple to John Norrington of the same place, Minister of the Chapel died 1870. Tiered benches to wooden gallery to west end and rostrum with tiered seats behind to east end.

Child, P., 1996, Proposed Demolition of Church Buildings and Erection of Dwelling, United Reform Church, West Down (Correspondence). SDV351596.

Consent was given for the demolition of the main church building in April 1985, seven months before being listed.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

Map object based on this source.

Historic England, 2017, Chapel and Sunday School, The Chapel, West Down, Ilfracombe, EX34 8NQ (Correspondence). SDV360158.

Historic England has been asked to amend the List entry to the Chapel and Sunday School at
West Down, Devon, which is listed at Grade II. The chapel was demolished prior to listing in
1985.
History
An Independent Chapel was built at West Down in 1829 on land given by Mr John Gammon.
The opening service was taken by Rev G. Smith. Mr John Norrington became minister at the
chapel in 1847 and refurbishments took place in 1849 and 1868. A marble memorial plaque to
Norrington was installed in the chapel following his death in 1870. The vacant position was
filled by Rev Charles Pozzi in June 1870, whose son Antonio Lorenzo Pozzi died in 1873 aged
three and whose grave is marked in front of the former chapel. In the same year, two cottages
adjoining the chapel were bought and replaced with a Sunday school including an upstairs tea
room and kitchen. The chapel and Sunday school, with a walled forecourt, are shown on the
Ordnance Survey Map of 1889. The Sunday school is recorded as having served as a day
school for a period in the late C19 and the upper floor probably served as an additional school
room.
The centenary of the chapel was celebrated in February 1930. Falling church attendances in
the mid-C20 led to the closure of the Sunday school and the ending of evening services in
1977. The chapel was demolished in 1985 and its fittings and the plaque to John Norrington
transferred to the Sunday school, where services subsequently took place. Services ceased in
1995, after which the building was adapted for residential use.

Historic England, 2017, National Heritage List for England, 1107714 (National Heritage List for England). SDV359963.

The Chapel.
Summary of Building
A Sunday School of 1873 incorporating part of an earlier Independent Chapel of 1829..
Reasons for Designation
The Chapel, a former Independent Chapel and School Room of 1829 and 1873, West Down, Devon is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the building retains the austere architectural appearance redolent of the building type and has handsome and well-crafted features in quality materials, notably the windows to the principal ground-floor former schoolroom;
* Historical interest: as a C19 former school room, later reused for church services when the adjacent chapel was demolished, it embodies the long tradition of nonconformist worship in the area and the changing spiritual needs of this rural community;
* Interior: the general layout of building and some internal features survive including a plaque from the original chapel.
History
An Independent Chapel was built at West Down in 1829 on land given by Mr John Gammon. The opening service was taken by Rev G. Smith. Mr John Norrington became minister at the chapel in 1847 and refurbishments took place in 1849 and 1868. A marble memorial plaque to Norrington was installed in the chapel following his death in 1870. The vacant position was filled by Rev Charles Pozzi in June 1870, whose son Antonio Lorenzo Pozzi died in 1873 aged three and whose grave is marked in front of the former chapel. In the same year, two cottages adjoining the chapel were bought and replaced with a Sunday school including an upstairs tea room and kitchen. The chapel and Sunday school, with a walled forecourt, are shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1889. The Sunday school is recorded as having served as a day school for a period in the late C19 and the upper floor probably served as an additional school room.
The centenary of the chapel was celebrated in February 1930. Falling church attendances in the mid C20 led to the closure of the Sunday school and the ending of evening services in 1977. The chapel was demolished in 1985 and its fittings and the plaque to John Norrington transferred to the Sunday school, where services subsequently took place. Services ceased in 1995, after which the building was adapted for residential use. .
Details
A former Congregational Sunday School of 1873 date converted to a dwelling in the late C20 and including walling of the former chapel and a grave marker.
MATERIALS: built of rubble with ashlar dressings, the west flank elevation is clad in artificial slates and the east flank is rendered. The roof is covered in slate.
PLAN: rectangular on plan under a gabled roof, the west wall is the original flank wall of the former adjacent chapel. An attic storey is accessed by stairs positioned towards the rear (north) of the building, separating the former school room from the kitchen. The attic floor has been subdivided to form living accommodation.
EXTERIOR: the façade has a central door with two-centred arch and a plaque above. The plaque reads: INDEPENDENT SUNDAY SCHOOL/ FOUNDATION STONE/ LAID BY/ MRS NORRINGTON/ JUNE 24TH 1873.
Two-centred arch windows to both sides have eared architraves and Y-tracery. There is a circular opening in the gable at attic floor level. The west flank has a modern door to the left and a chapel window to the centre that is obscured by modern translucent tiles. The east flank has two, two-centred arch windows to the ground-floor and modern dormers breaking through the eaves above. To the right is a modern door and casement with a horned timber sash above.
INTERIOR: the main entrance leads into a lobby with inserted matchboarded cloakroom and door to the principal ground-floor room, which has pine floorboards. A marble wall monument to John Norrington of Barnstaple is fixed to the west wall. A modern woodburner with brick-arched opening has been inserted in the east wall. A rear door leads to a small stone-flagged lobby to the stairs and kitchen, the latter having a late C19 door with fanlight. At the top of the stair is a timber balustrade and there is some other late C19 joinery to some rooms and cupboards. The first-floor structure and floorboards are of C19 date.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the garden wall to the west is the truncated remains of the former chapel on the site, and there is a child’s grave in the south-west corner of the building forecourt. Standing forward of the south-east corner of the former Sunday school is a further C19 boundary wall.
Date first listed: 14th November 1985
Date of most recent amendment: 16th June 2017

Historic England, 2017, The Chapel, West Down, Ilfracombe, Devon (Correspondence). SDV360236.

Historic England have been asked to amend the List Entry to The Chapel and Sunday School at West Down to reflect the fact that the original chapel had been demolished by the time the original List entry was first published on 14 November 1985. The building currently known as The Chapel did at one time serve such a function but was originally a Sunday School built adjacent to the earlier chapel building. The chapel as described in the current List entry was demolished earlier in 1985 and its fittings and services moved to the building next door. Services eventually ceased altogether and the remaining building was converted to residential use in the late 1990s.
While the loss of much of the 1829 building is unfortunate, this occurred shortly before the original listing took place over 30 years ago. Since this time The Chapel has remained a listed building and its conversion to a residential dwelling has been carried with sensitivity to its origins as a C19 school room incorporating part of an early-C19 chapel. As a result, the building continues to retain appearance as described (albeit very briefly) in the current List entry. While the adjacent chapel is lost, its footprint and part of its structure is still legible and helps articulate the historical context of the former school room. As a chapel school room of 1873, The Chapel retains a substantial proportion of its historic fabric and continues to meet the criteria for listing.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
The Chapel is recommended for an amendment for the following principal reasons:
* Updating the List: the building would benefit from a clearer description of its appearance and significance, in the current format, including the removal of the description of the original chapel which has been significantly altered;
* Architectural and historical interest: the former school room remains largely as described in the List entry and continues to meet the criteria for listing as a mid late C19 school building incorporating some of the original chapel;
* Degree of survival: the former school room retains its character, albeit modified in some areas in
accordance with its change to chapel use and then residential use in the late C20.
See report for full details

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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