Tabernacle Congregational Church

Cadw's description

Location

On the S side of Main Street some 50m W of its E junction with East Back, opposite Hamilton Terrace..

History

Congregational church of 1867-8 by the Rev. Thomas Thomas of Landore. Built for £1840 by W. Allen, contractor, of Pembroke Dock. The total cost with the manse was said to be £3500. Built in Gothic style, one of Thomas' most elaborate works in the style (used by him also at Mount Pleasant Baptist church, East Back, 1877-8). Organ by Conacher added for £500 in 1900. Renovated in 1911.
The ground on which the chapel stands is marked on 1857 Orielton estate sale map as owned by the Rev. W. Bowling, vicar of Cosheston. The preceding Independent Chapel, built on ground leased from the Orielton estate in 1810, survives at the foot of New Way, nearby, converted to flats.

Exterior

Congregational Church, Gothic style. Large gable end facade in rock-faced squared grey limestone with Bath stone tracery. Broad centre gable with shouldered coping between pair of projecting narrow towers, similar to roof level, but the right one capped by a low gable, the other with a small spire. Slate roof, rendered sides and rear.
Centre gable has wrought iron gable finial. A string course defines a false parapet, following line of gable coping, with a stone finial. Below a Bath stone quatrefoiled roundel vent over Bath stone ribbon scroll inscribed '1811 Tabernacle 1867'. Big centre ornately traceried pointed window in Bath stone with two-colour stone voussoirs. Five light tracery has three roundels in heads, each with 4-pointed star tracery. Bath stone flush band at impost level. Moulded string course. Ground floor has Bath stone twin projecting Gothic doorcases with coped gables and fleur de lys finials. Integral buttresses each side, and projecting from centre pier. Some grey stone inserts to piers. Arches are pointed chamfered and within are double doors with diagonal boarding and cast-iron hinges, shouldered heads, and pointed overlights with quatrefoil-roundels in cast-iron tracery. .
Towers have stepped diagonal buttresses rising in three steps to above impost level of main window. Bath stone quoins and setoffs. Ground floor has narrow 2-light pointed window with bi-colour voussoirs, string course above (at level of main window sill course), first floor has narrow cusped lancet with bi-colour voussoirs ; flush Bath stone band above (at level of main impost band) and top stage has small lancet with bi-colour voussoirs, flush Bath stone impost band and Bath stone quoins.
Left tower has Bath stone spire with stone splayed base just above level of main gable coping, octagonal bell-stage with plain louvred lancets, and a moulded string course under steep octagonal spire with some grey stone inserts, tiny dummy lucarnes, and small iron cross finial.
Right tower continues higher than gable coping to a shouldered coped gable with iron finial and small louvred roundel in gable. Saddleback slate roof. Similar gable to S side.
Side walls of towers are stone above ground floor level. Side walls of chapel are rendered, basement below plinth, and two storeys of five pointed windows with wooden Y-tracery. Stone sills. Two-storey lean-to on windowless S end wall. Lean-to has two pointed windows over two square-headed windows and centre door.

Interior

Interior has plastered walls, broad 3-sided, 5-bay, plaster ceiling divided by ribs, the panels with applied big concave-sided lozenges. Half-lozenges in smaller end panels. Two roses and 3 vents in flat panels. N end has Tudor-arched recess over big N window with early C20 coloured leaded glazing. Three-sided gallery with curved angles at both ends. Gallery front in long panels with Gothic cast-iron tracery of trefoils, divided by pilasters with centre roundel, leaf capital and chamfered and stopped sides. Seven cast-iron columns with leaf pattern caps. Pews in three blocks, low doors, roundel tops to bench ends and panelled backs.
Three-sided N lobby with Tudor-arched door in each canted side and two small pointed windows with early C20 leaded glazing in centre. Tiled lobby floor with right-angled stairs up to gallery, which has raked pews.
S end platform with panelled newels with finials and cast-iron scrolled rails, curved at angles. Pulpit on platform with short balustraded steps each side of front with 2-panel projected centre, single panel each side, Gothic panels, angle shafts and moulded top cornice. Behind is large organ with painted pipes, by Peter Conacher & Co. of Huddersfield, in Gothic timber case. Marble plaque to Rev. David Salmon died 1877. Behind chapel lean-to has first floor minister's room and stairs down to basement hall with five plain cast-iron columns carrying ceiling beams.

Reason for designation

Included for its special architectural interest as a Gothic Revival chapel of unusual elaboration and prominent in the town skyline.