Oxhey Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oxhey Chapel |
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Oxhey Chapel from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | TQ 113 934 |
| Location | Oxhey, Watford, Hertfordshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1612 |
| Completed | 1897 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint and brick, stone dressings Tiled roof |
Oxhey Chapel is an old Anglican chapel in Oxhey, Hertfordshire, England. It's called a "redundant church" because it's no longer used for regular church services. However, it is still a special place.
The chapel is listed as a Grade II* building, which means it's very important historically and architecturally. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. You can find the chapel in South Oxhey, surrounded by houses built in the 1940s. It's about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Watford's town centre.
Contents
The Story of Oxhey Chapel
Building and Early Years
Oxhey Chapel was built in 1612 by Sir James Altham. It was a private chapel for his family and the people who worked for him at Oxhey Place. The chapel might even stand on the spot where an older monk's church once stood.
During the English Civil War in 1649, something interesting happened. After a battle, Oliver Cromwell's soldiers, known as the Roundheads, used the chapel. They turned it into a storage area and a place for soldiers to sleep.
Damage and Changes Over Time
The soldiers caused some damage to the chapel. They even took lead from the roof to make bullets for their guns. They also made a new door in the east wall.
In 1688, Sir John Bucknall bought Oxhey Place. He closed up the new door and added a special screen, called a reredos, to the east end of the chapel. The wood for this screen came from his house, which he had mostly rebuilt.
Later, in 1704, a small tower for a bell, called a bellcote, was added. The roof was also changed to a hipped, tiled roof. The inside of the chapel was fixed up in 1712, and the reredos was painted white. People used the chapel for worship until 1799, but after that, it was used for storage.
Restorations and Modern Use
In 1852, the chapel was restored again by T. Estcourt. He wanted it to be used for worship by the local villagers. The white paint was removed from the reredos, and the old benches and pulpit were replaced.
More changes happened in 1897. New rooms, called vestries, were added. The windows were fixed, and the benches were rearranged to face each other. Thomas Blackwell, who owned Oxhey Place and co-founded the famous food company Crosse & Blackwell, paid for these changes. The architect for this work was J. E. K. Cutts.
During the 1900s, the chapel started to fall apart. In the winter of 1962–63, part of the roof even collapsed! Repairs were made, including a completely new roof and bellcote. The chapel was used again for a while, but eventually, it was declared "redundant." In 1977, it was given to the Churches Conservation Trust. It is still a holy place and is sometimes used for weddings.
Looking at the Chapel's Design
Outside the Chapel
Oxhey Chapel is built with dark flint stones and red bricks. These are arranged in a cool checkerboard pattern. The decorative parts are made of stone, and the roof has tiles.
The chapel has a rectangular shape with a small porch, called a narthex, sticking out to the west. The main entrance has a fancy moulded arch, shaped like a Tudor arch. You can see the date 1897 carved above the door.
On each side of the porch, there's a window with two sections. Above the porch, there's a window with four sections. Higher up, there's a stone cornice (a decorative ledge) and a brick gable (the triangular part of a wall under a sloping roof).
On the roof, there's a wooden bellcote from the 20th century. It's octagonal (eight-sided) and has a dome-shaped top. At the corners of the chapel, there are stone quoins, which are large blocks that make the corners stronger and look nice. Along the north and south sides, there are windows with three sections and a brick parapet (a low wall). On the north side, between the windows, there's a brick buttress (a support structure) from the 1800s.
At the east end, there's a four-section window. Above it, a brick gable holds a plaque with the dates 1612 and 1963.
Inside the Chapel
Inside, the chapel has two rows of benches facing each other, like in a college chapel. The west door has a fancy frame with carved Corinthian pilasters (flat columns) and a decorative top part called an entablature.
The reredos (the screen behind the altar) is very detailed. It has two twisted Solomonic columns that frame panels. These panels show the Ten Commandments. On the outside of these, there are panels with the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. At the very top of the reredos, there's an open pediment (a triangular decoration) with a flaming urn inside.
The area around the altar, called the sanctuary, has a floor made of black and white marble. The roof is divided into five sections, called bays.
The wooden font, used for baptisms, is from the 1600s. It has an eight-sided base, a beautifully carved round bowl, and a dome-shaped cover. An eight-branch candelabrum (a large candle holder) hangs from the roof.
You can also see a wall tomb inside the chapel. It belongs to Sir James Altham, who died in 1616, and his last wife, Helen, who died in 1638. The tomb shows two figures praying to each other. It's made of alabaster and marble, with Corinthian columns and an open triangular top that holds a cartouche (a decorative frame) with obelisks (tall, narrow monuments) on each side. At the west end, there's also a marble memorial tablet for John Askill Bucknall, dated 1797.
See also
