Penuel Presbyterian Church of Wales including forecourt walls and railings

Cadw's description

Location

Located towards the top of the High Street, just before it curves round to the L and up to the Bullring.

History

A Calvinistic Methodist chapel was first built on the site in 1776. It was rebuilt in 1826 and refurbished in 1886.

Exterior

Classical-style chapel. Symmetrical lateral-entry facade of 2 storeys. Lower range to R containing vestry and stable beneath. Rendered, lined and whitened under slate roofs with rusticated quoin strips on a rubble plinth. Round-headed openings in rusticated surrounds with long square-ended voussoirs. Two doorways with boarded doors and fan-lights with radial glazing. Between these at mid-level are 2 windows, horned sashes with margin glazing. Above and between them is a square stone tablet, partly eroded, inscribed 'Penuel' and the dates 1776, 1826 and 1886. At a low level between the doorways, a wooden panel is fixed to the wall. Lighting the gallery and offset to the outer sides of the doorways are 2 shorter windows in a similar style.

The vestry is slightly set back and has a planked door to the L under a multi-pane overlight, and two 6-over-6-pane horned sashes to the R, all with flat heads. The doorway is reached by stone steps which are bounded by the front enclosure wall to the chapel. The stable beneath is entered through a wide opening in the enclosure wall, and has a segmental stone head and double planked doors. The enclosure wall is of snecked stone with chamfered stone copings, supporting 2-tier iron railings with fleur-de-lis finials, arched heads beneath the top rails and scrolls beneath the mid-rails. Two gates in a similar style lead to the chapel doorways. The N gable end of the vestry is rendered and lined and is slightly faceted about the centre line. It has 3 horned sash windows with flat heads, of different sizes and irregularly set. The S gable end of the chapel is abutted by another building. The rear (W) side is cut steeply into the hillside. It is of rubble stone, 3-window and 2-storey with round-headed windows with stone voussoirs to the upper storey and segmental-headed windows below, all containing sashes with margin glazing. The vestry has brick quoins to the rear, and windows with segmental heads and brick surrounds.

Interior

Small square vestibules inside the entrances with stairs to the outer sides leading to the gallery, and half-glazed double doors with stained glass leading into the chapel. Lateral arrangement with pulpit against front facade, opposite a canted 3-sided gallery on narrow cast iron columns with rings. Wooden gallery front with recessed panels, mouldings above and below, and central clock. Mounted above the clock is a pipe organ with 6-panel front flanked and surmounted by balustrading with circular motifs at the angles. Four tiers of panelled pews to gallery and panelled pews below. Square-fronted pulpit with small panels and dog-leg stairs to either side with open balustrading and decorative newel posts. Set fawr with small square recessed panels below, short turned balusters above, and ball finials at the angles. Wood panelling to rear of pulpit turning at right angles at the ends to form the sides of the entrance vestibules which have flat wooden ceilings. Heavily moulded plaster coving with dentils and small flower bosses, wood panelled ceiling surround, and 3 plaster ceiling roses, the central one larger and highly ornate with foliage and flowers.

The vestry to the N has wainscot panelling and moulded coving. Stable block below with segmental-vaulted entrance bay. The stables have rubble stone walls, a concrete-covered floor and C20 wooden ceiling joists. The partitions no longer survive. Planked door to rear L, with steps leading down.

Reason for designation

Listed as a fine early C19 chapel of the lateral-entry type.