St Benet's Chapel, Netherton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Benet's Chapel, Netherton |
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Chapel House with the chapel extending behind
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| OS grid reference | SD 358 002 |
| Location | Chapel Lane, Netherton, Merseyside |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | St Benet's Chapel |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Benet |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 11 October 1968 |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Completed | 1793 |
| Closed | 1975 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick with stone slate roof |
St Benet's Chapel is an old Roman Catholic church building in Chapel Lane, Netherton, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This means it is a "redundant" church. The chapel and the house next to it are very important. They are listed as a Grade II* building. This means they are special and need to be protected. Experts say it is one of the best-preserved early Catholic churches in the northwest of England. The Historic Chapels Trust now looks after it.
History of St Benet's Chapel
The chapel and the priest's house were built in 1793. Before this, Benedictine priests used a small cottage and barn for worship. The new building was put up after some important laws were passed. These laws, called the Catholic Relief Acts (1778 and 1791), allowed Roman Catholics to worship openly in England.
Even though they could worship openly, the chapel was still hidden. Only the priest's house could be seen from the road. The chapel was behind it. This was a common way to build Catholic churches at that time. It helped them avoid problems.
The chapel stopped being used for regular services in 1975. The Historic Chapels Trust now owns it. The priest's house was fixed up in 2004. It is now used as a home for priests who have retired. The chapel itself is being restored. The goal is to make it look like it did before the Second Vatican Council. This was a big meeting in the Catholic Church that changed many things.
Architecture of the Chapel and House
The priest's house faces the road. The chapel stretches out from the back of the house, forming a right angle. Both buildings are made of brick. They have stone details. The house has a slate roof, and the chapel has a stone slate roof.
The chapel has two sections, called bays. It has round-headed sash windows. On the west end of the chapel, there is a small tower for a bell. This is called a bellcote. A cross sits on top of it. The main entrance is on the north side, at the west end. It has two doors with a blind space above them. This space is called a tympanum.
Inside the chapel, some of the original decorations have been removed. But the ones that are left are very important. At the west end, there is a gallery. This is like a balcony. It has a balustrade with thin wooden bars. A dog-leg staircase on the north side leads up to it. Around the lower part of the chapel walls, there is panelled wood. This is called a dado. There is also a decorative molding near the ceiling, called a cornice.
The east wall is very fancy. It has two pilasters. These are like flat columns attached to the wall. They have fluted (grooved) designs and Corinthian tops. These pilasters hold up a decorative structure called an entablature. This entablature has urns and a frieze with anthemions (flower-like designs). Above this is an open pediment. Curtains hang from the pediment. They are open to show a dove flying down. There are also words that say Gloria (Glory) and cherubs' heads with wings. The altar is made to look like marbled stone. It was probably added around the 1830s.
The priest's house looks like a typical two-story house from the road. It has two windows on each floor at the front. All the windows have wedge-shaped stone pieces above them, called lintels. The two windows on the ground floor are sash windows with thin strips of wood called glazing bars. The two windows above them are casement windows. Between the ground floor windows, there is a doorway. It has a six-panel door with flat pilasters and an open pediment. Above the door is a fanlight, which is a window shaped like a fan. Between the upper floor windows, there is a window that is filled in and cannot be seen through. On the right side of the house, there are two windows, one on each floor. There is also a round-headed stair window between the floors. Each side of the house has a pointed roof section called a gable. A chimney stack sits on top of each gable.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Merseyside
- List of chapels preserved by the Historic Chapels Trust
