Monument Type(s):

• CHAPEL (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument and Grade I Listed Building: A fine example of a parochial chapel, which is unusual in retaining most of its early 17th century furniture and fittings substantially intact, and of increased interest because of its association with one of the most substantial medieval moated sites in Shropshire.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA287 - Undated field observation by English Heritage
• ESA288 - 1971 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA289 - 1987 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA9890 - 1997 Recording of tiles at Langley Chapel by BUFAU

Description

Langley Chapel (dedication unknown) was probably built in 1278 by one of the Burnell family as a private chapel and the architecture would appear to agree with a late 13th century date. After it had fallen into decay, it was restored by Sir Humphrey Lee in 1601, who was responsible for the fittings and roof. It had again fallen into disrepair by 1880 and has since been restored by the Ministry of Public Building and Works. <1a><1b><2a>

Shown on O.S. map as Chapel. Circa 1564 on an earlier site, reroofed in 1601 and restored in 1900 by the S.P.A.B. Dressed grey sandstone with sandstone slate roof. Nave and chancel in one. Chamfered plinth, diagonal buttresses to east with chamfered offsets, coped parapeted gable end to east, and weatherboarded west bellcote with paired louvred openings and pyramidal cap. Central chamfered round-arched window to south and flanking Tudor-arched doorways (that to right with renewed lintel) with nail-studded boarded doors; chamfered pointed-arched west window; 2-light double-chamfered stone mullioned square-headed window to north; east window with 3 pointed-arched lights and chamfered reveals, and square recessed probable datestone above with chamfered bottom edge (illegible at time of survey - April 1985). Interior: 4-bay nave roof dated 1601 consisting of moulded arch bracing with moulded and carved pendants, ashlar pieces, pairs of through-purlins, and one tier of windbraces; trussed-rafter chancel roof with fillet-moulded braces and ashlar pieces; nave roof inscribed: "1601", "GH", "HN", (or "NH") and "IBAB"; restored moulded rood beam; framework supporting west bellcote; plaster frieze over ashlar pieces to south with fleur-de-lys, rose and rosette motifs. Early C17 fittings: benches with chamfered drop- shaped poppyheads; musicians' pew at back; 4 box pews at front with H-shaped hinges, fluted friezes, and turned knobs; square reader's pew: panelled with fluted frieze, H-shaped hinges, back boards to 2 sides and square tester with carved scrolled corner brackets; moveable wooden pulpit: hexagonal with pierced fluted frieze and strap hinges; Laudian rails on 3 sides with moulded bases, shaped supports, and benches; communion table. Reused mediaeval floor tiles at east end. A chapel at Langley is first mentioned in 1249 and the present building might stand on its site. Langley was a dependent chapelry of Acton Burnell. County A.M. No.5, V.C.H., Vol. VIII, p.145;. In guardianship of HBMC <3>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, High score as one of 20 Parish Churches <8>

In 1996 the Scheduling was revised and Langley Chapel was incorporated into the Scheduling of Langley Hall Moat [PRN 01060].The relevant parts of the Scheduling description for the chapel are as follows: ->

-> The monument also includes the standing remains of Langley Chapel which are contained within a second area ... Some 150m south west of the gatehouse stands Langley Chapel, which in its present form dates largely to the 16th century, and retains its Puritan fittings and furnishings substantially intact. The chapel is Listed Grade I, and is open to the public, under the care of the Secretary of State. ->

->The manor of Langley is mentioned in Domesday, when it was under the overlordship of Roger of Shrewsbury. In 1212 it was owned by William Burnell, a member of the family which gave its name to Acton Burnell, whose moated 'castle' is situated in the adjacent valley some 2km to the NNW and is the subject of a separate scheduling (SM27531). By 1313 Richard Burnell had obtained permission to build a chapel at Langley, and the present chapel structure retains elements of the medieval building. By 1552 the chapel had its own priest, and two bells are recorded which were still there in 1834. In 1377 Langley manor passed by marriage to the Lee family. The chapel was rebuilt c.1546, and in 1591 Humphrey Lee made Langley Hall his main seat .. The last regular services were held at the chapel in 1871, and it was restored in 1900 and again in the 1960s .. ->

-> Langley Chapel has no known dedication. It has a simple, rectangular, single cell design, and is constructed of dressed grey sandstone with a slate tile roof. Externally the chapel has a chamfered plinth and double chamfered diagonal buttresses at its eastern angles. There is a small weatherboard bell tower at the west end, with paired louvred openings and a pyramidal cap. The two Tudor-arched doorways in the south side have nail-studded boarded doors, and the easterly doorway has a renewed lintel. Between these is a round-arched window, while the north wall has a two-light square-headed window. The pointed window at the chapel's west end, and the bar tracery in the three-light east window, suggest that the present structure is a reconstruction of an earlier church. Above the east window is a square recess with a chamfered bottom edge, which is probably a datestone although at present it is illegible. Internally the nave and chancel roofs are of different construction. The nave has four arch-braced collar-beam trusses with moulded pendants carved with faces, fleurs-de-lis and geometric patterns, while the chancel roof is constructed of trussed rafters. The nave roof is inscribed with initials and the date 1601, and on the south side the roof and wall are connected by a plaster frieze ornamented with Tudor roses, fleurs-de-lis and rosettes. A similar frieze which decorated the north wall is no longer present. ->

-> A restored moulded rood-beam separates the two roofs, and at ground level the chancel is raised from the nave by a step. It is floored with reused medieval encaustic tiles, and the furnishings here and in the nave are all of early 17th century date. As the chapel was virtually unused from the late 17th century it avoided the many subsequent changes in church fashions and as a result is one of the few places with an almost complete set of church fittings. Four simple bench pews at the west end of the nave, for the use of labourers and servants, have poppy-headed finials, and at the far west end is a higher desk for musicians. Further east, the largest of the ornate panelled box pews would have been used by the Lee family. There is a small movable hexagonal pulpit, and an unusual roofed reading desk on the north side of the nave with benches inside. The box pews, pulpit and reading desk are all decorated with a carved motif of blank arcades, typical of early Jacobean work, but lacking the usual elaborate designs within. The movable communion table is in the centre of the chancel, and is surrounded by seats with kneelers and bookrests on the north, east and south walls. The iron tie-rods in the chapel roof date to the restoration of 1900. ->

-> The 18th century and modern domestic and agricultural buildings of Langley Hall Farm and its gardens and farmyard walls, Langley Hall gatehouse, all fences across the monument, the modern road surface and the modern surfaces of the farmyard, are all excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included <9>

Photographs taken 14th March 2017. <11>

Photographed in January 2019. <12>

Built or largely reconstructed in 1564 and 1601. <13>

Shropshire Archives hold a watercolour of Langley Chapel (Reference
6001/372/1/103), by Reverend Edward Williams, dated to 1789. A small-scale thumbnail can be found via their online catalogue: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCA_X6001_19_372A_103 <14>

Recording of two areas of re-laid medieval floor tiles as part of a wider project. <15>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.