Building record MLI87333 - Unitarian Chapel, High Street, Lincoln

Summary

Non-conformist chapel, built in 1725.

Type and Period (4)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

A Unitarian Chapel, early 18th century, altered 1819 with late 19th century additions. Restored in 1987. Constructed from brick, rendered with grey plaster, with stone dressings and hipped slate roof with a single stack. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {1} The chapel was built c.1726 for a Presbyterian congregation formed in the late 17th century and after 1792 was used by Calvinistic Methodists. When in 1803 the latter attempted to gain absolute possession, the trustees ejected them, reopening the place for worship of a Unitarian character which has continued apart from three periods of disuse between 1902 and 1923. The walls are of brick with later rendering above a stone plinth and the roof is hipped and slated. {2} There were several conventicles of Presbyterians and Independents in the city by the late 18th century although most have obscure histories. The best documented, however, is that which began as early as 1672 and met in the chapel, built in c.1725 on the east side of High Street, at the corner with Monson Street, in St Peter-at-Gowts parish. This group called themselves Presbyterian in 1719, but they were Independent by 1774 and the congregation became Unitarian in 1837. {3} Erected before 1800. A separate and entire building used exclusively as a place of worship. The chapel had an average congregation of 40 people in 1851. {4} A modest Georgian box of 1725 with arched windows and a pediment across the front. Porch added, cememented and made Gothic in 1819 or 1902. {5} The building first appears on Marrat's Map of 1817. {6} In 1856, White's Directory noted that the Unitarian Chapel in High Street, 'is a plain ancient building, at the end of Monson Street. It originally belonged to the Presbyterians, and is now under the ministry of the Rev. Charles Case Nutter'. {7}{8} The list description for this buildng was updated in June 2022, following further research. The building was constructed in 1725 for a Presbyterian congregation which had formed in the late 17th century. The congregation became Unitarian in 1837 and the chapel has remained in use by the Unitarians ever since, apart from a period of disuse between 1902 and 1923. As built, it was a simple, single-cell, single-storey building. It was altered in 1819 when a porch was added and the brickwork was rendered. The single-storey, rear (eastern) extension may have also been added at this time and was extant by 1887. Further alterations were carried out in 1902, although the nature of this work is unclear. Sometime between 1904 and 1930, a single-storey, pitched-roofed extension was added to the south of the 19th century extension adjoining Monson Street. An extensive restoration of the chapel was carried out in 1987. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate entry in the National Heritage List for England. {9}

Sources/Archives (9)

  •  Index: Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Dec 1999. Revised List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 1941-1/14/178.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Christopher Stell. 2002. Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in Eastern England. pp.214-5.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Jones, Michael, J; Stocker, D.; and Vince, A.. 2003. The City by the Pool including LARA. LARA.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.W. Ambler. 1979. Lincolnshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship, 1851. p.106, no.570.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.502.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: D.R. Mills and R.C. Wheeler. 2004. Historic Town Plans of Lincoln 1610 - 1920. 92. Marrat 1817:3, p.28.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.90.
  •  Digital Archive: Lincolnshire County Council. 2005. GIS layer depicting locations and survival of nonconformist chapels in the City of Lincoln. 70409.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1388606.

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Location

Grid reference Centred SK 97339 70516 (18m by 19m) Surveyed
Civil Parish PARK, LINCOLN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Sep 27 2023 12:53PM

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