Elston Chapel

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Elston Chapel

Elston, Nottinghamshire

Status: Redundant

Elston Chapel
Church of England
Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham
Location
Grid reference: SK762482
Location: 53°1’35"N, -0°51’53"W
History
Norman / Gothic
Information

Elston Chapel is a redundant Church of England church to the north-east of the village of Elston in Nottinghamshire. Though no longer used for worship, it is a Grade I listed building.[1] It stands in a field and is described as a "solitary barn-like chapel".[2]

The church is today under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2]

History

Formerly a parish church, the chapel dates from the 12th century, with additions and alterations made in the 14th and 16th centuries.[1] The chapel was created as a separate parish in 1584 and later became a chapelry to East Stoke. In the early 19th century its interior was fitted with pine pews and a gallery.[2] However, by 1872 it was disused and was transferred to the parish of All Saints, Elston.


There is speculation that the chapel was formerly the chapel of a medieval leper hospital dedicated to St Leonard. [3] The church was declared redundant on 23 September 1976, and was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 9 February 1976.[4]

Architecture

The chapel is constructed in coursed rubble stone with tile roofs, and consists of a nave and a smaller and lower chancel. In the west wall are two small rectangular windows with a larger rectangular window above. In the north wall of the nave is a two-light window with ogee arches and, to the east in a slightly projecting bay is a single-light window with a pointed arch. The north wall of the chancel contains a two-light window under a flat arch. The east end of the chancel has buttresses, and contains a three-light window with ogee arches under a flat head. The date 1577 is inscribed over the window, and at the apex of the gable is the fragment of a cross. The south wall of the chancel and the nave both contain a two-light window under ogee arches.[1] The south doorway dates from the 12th century, and is in Norman style with a round arch and zigzag decoration.[1][2] Inside the church fragments of the 19th-century fittings still present.[1] There are several layers of paintings on the walls, including Georgian era|Georgian biblical texts and, on the north wall, a large royal coat of arms.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 National Heritage List 1157196: Elston Chapel (Grade I listing)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Elston Chapel, Elston: Churches Conservation Trust
  3. The Nottinghamshire Village Book: Elston - A Modern Description, The Nottinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes and Countryside Books, GENUKI, 1989, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/NTT/Elston/Elston.html, retrieved 25 November 2010 
  4. (PDF) Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham: All Schemes, Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2011, p. 1, http://www.churchofengland.org/media/811136/southwell%20and%20nottingham%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf, retrieved 7 April 2011