Providence Chapel, Charlwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Providence Chapel |
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The chapel from the east
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 Providence Chapel
Location in Surrey
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| 51°09′24″N 0°13′08″W / 51.1567°N 0.2188°W | |
| Location | Chapel Road, Charlwood, Surrey RH6 0DA |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Strict Baptist |
| Previous denomination | Independent Calvinistic |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Charlwood Union Chapel |
| Status | Chapel |
| Founded | c. 1814 |
| Founder(s) | Joseph Flint |
| Events | c. 1800: built in Horsham as a barracks 1815 or 1816: moved to Charlwood |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Closed |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 7 April 1983 |
| Architectural type | Timber-framed |
| Style | New England Vernacular |
| Completed | 15 November 1816 |
| Closed | c. 2010 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of floors | 1 |
| Floor area | 1,354 square feet (125.8 m2) |
| Materials | Weatherboarding and timber framing on brick base; slate roof |
Providence Chapel is a very old building in the village of Charlwood, Surrey, England. It was once a place of worship for a group of Christians called Nonconformists. These are Protestants who are not part of the official Church of England.
The chapel first opened in 1816. It was used by Independent Calvinists and later by Strict Baptists for nearly 200 years. What's really cool is that this wooden building wasn't built as a church! It was actually an officers' mess (like a dining hall) at a military camp. Its simple, veranda-fronted style looks "startling" and very different from typical English buildings.
The chapel was put up for sale in 2012. It is now a very important historical building. English Heritage has given it a special status called Grade II* because of its unique architecture and history. For a while, it was on a list of buildings "at risk" because it needed repairs. But thankfully, it has now been fixed up!
Contents
A Chapel with a Unique History
Joseph Flint was a shopkeeper in Charlwood in the early 1800s. He was a Protestant Nonconformist, unlike most people in the area. Around 1814, he and a small group of friends started meeting in a cottage to worship. They didn't go to the local Anglican church.
Meanwhile, during the Napoleonic Wars, there was a military camp in Horsham, a town nearby. Around 1800, a wooden building was put up there. It was used as a guardroom or a place for officers to eat and relax.
After the war ended, the military camp closed down. The timber building was taken apart and moved on wagons all the way to Charlwood! It was then put back together in a field north of the village. On November 15, 1816, this "strange" building opened as a chapel for Joseph Flint and his group. They called it Charlwood Union Chapel.
Pastors and Changes
The chapel only had one full-time pastor, C.T. Smith, who served from 1816 to 1834. After him, it was mostly served by Strict Baptist ministers. Even though it started as an Independent Calvinistic chapel, it became known as a Strict Baptist chapel.
C.T. Smith also preached in the village of Horley, which is about 2 miles (3.2 km) away. In 1846, a Strict Baptist chapel was built there with help from the Charlwood church. The congregation in Horley later moved to a bigger building in 1881.
Charlwood Union Chapel was later renamed Providence Chapel. Services were held on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.
Saving the Chapel
In 2012, the building was put up for sale. It needed repairs and was listed on the national Heritage at Risk Register. This means it was a historic building that needed urgent care.
In spring 2013, a local history and preservation group called the Charlwood Society became the new owners of the chapel. They wanted to protect it.
The chapel was officially registered for marriages on December 7, 1844. It was also registered as a place of worship. Because it was built before the law for registering places of worship was passed, it has the very first identity number: 1!
The Chapel's Unique Look
Providence Chapel looks very unusual, especially for the English countryside. Experts have called it a "startling building" that looks more like something you'd find in New England in America or even in the "backwoods of Canada." It's a rare example of a building from the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It's considered the most unique of the many Nonconformist chapels built in Surrey in the 1800s.
Building Materials and Design
The chapel is a single-storey building, meaning it has only one floor. It is timber-framed, which means its main structure is made of wood. The outside walls are covered with weatherboarding, which are long, thin wooden boards that overlap. The building sits on a brick base.
The roof is hipped, meaning it slopes down on all four sides. It has a brick chimney and is covered with slate tiles. The roof also extends over the front of the building, forming a veranda with seven wooden pillars.
The main entrance door is in the middle and has six panels. There's another smaller door on the southwest side. Both doors have casement windows next to them, with their original outside shutters. There are also two windows on the east side that have been blocked up. A path made of Charlwood stone leads to the main entrance.
Inside the Chapel
Inside, there are two small rooms called vestries on the northeast side. One of these rooms still has its original fireplace. Other old features from the early 1800s include the eight-sided pulpit (where the minister preaches), box pews (enclosed seating areas), and a table.
The inside floor area is about 1,354 square feet (125.8 square meters). The chapel sits on a plot of land that is about 0.17 acres (0.069 ha) and includes a graveyard.
Protecting a Piece of History
Providence Chapel was given a special heritage status called Grade II* by English Heritage on April 7, 1983. Buildings with this status are considered "particularly important" and have "more than special interest."
As of 2001, it was one of only 44 Grade II* listed buildings in the Mole Valley area. Only about 5.5% of England's 375,000 listed buildings have this high Grade II* status.
In 2012, English Heritage added the chapel to its Heritage at Risk Register. This meant the building was in "poor" condition and needed repairs. Its future was uncertain.
However, in 2019, the National Lottery Heritage Fund gave a grant of £260,000 to help restore the chapel. This money paid for important repairs to the roof, the wooden walls, and the timber frame. Thanks to these repairs, the chapel was removed from the "at risk" list in October 2019. Today, the former chapel is used by the local community in Charlwood.
