Building record 1389/1/0 - Baptist Chapel and Chapel Cottage

<1> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /7/24 (Report). SCH1934.

Baptist Chapel & Chapel Cottage,Merryman's Lane. Mid C17 with alts 1712 & 1813.Timber frame with brick infill & brick with stone slate roof. At one time both cottages formed part of the chapel. The 1st floor of the west cottage was a gallery and the pulpit was being placed against the north wall. As presently arranged chapel is divided from 1 cottage by a wall against the centre of which the pulpit is now placed 5 C19 pew boxes to N & S.Truss supported on 2 chamfered posts.Cambered tie Queen posts.Full arch desc.

<2> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, Richards R 1947 /383-385 (Book). SCH2309.

Cromwellian soldiers said to have founded meeting place in a farmhouse c.1668. Then transfered to Pownall Brown Farm near present chapel. As congregation grew an ancient barn & cottage were acquired in 1712 in Merriman Lane and converted into the existing chapel. The N side of the early Tudor cottage was left undisturbed and this section remains intact, with a framework of massive oak beams consisting of 10 uprights & 4 horizontals with brick infill. Burial ground at the front of the chapel. Oldest slab is dated 1671.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ87NW2/1964 (Index). SCH2487.

<4> Chester Courant, 1878-1990, The Cheshire Sheaf, 3/43-44 Irvine W F 1899 (Newspaper-Magazine). SCH3105.

<5> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), 1994, An Inventory of Non-Conformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in the North of England, Cheshire Number 47 (Book). SCH4548.

The Church, which was in existance by the late 17th century, is reported to have met in various places including 'Norbury House' and Pownall Brow Farm. In 1689 land was aquired in Mottram St Andrew [CSMR 1389/1/2] for use as a burial-ground and in 1712 the present site was aquired. The church was much reduced in support by 1757, when a new minister, John Taylor, briefly attracted greater numbers before a charge of 'unbecoming conduct' divided the congregation; he is credited with 'restoring' the meeting house with a 'dado of plaited rushes' and his successor, Thomas Holt (c.1788-1631), with laying a brick and plank floor in lieu of strewn rushes.
The West half of the Chapel was converted in C19 to serve as a house for the minister or caretaker and had a floor put in at gallery level.

<6> L - P Archaeology, 2016, Historic Building Recording of Great Warford Baptist Chapel (Client Report). SCH8208.

A building survey was undertaken at Warford Baptist Chapel in advance of a single storey lean to extension to provide a servery and accessible toilet. As part of the extension, there was a requirement to remove a fireplace located in the meeting room at the western end of the Chapel. The objective of the work was to produce an accurate record of the structures, specifically the fireplace, prior to material changes.

The building was originally constructed as a cottage and barn in the 17th century and is thought to have been established as a place of worship as early as 1642. The structure is known to have been fully converted to a place of worship by 1712 when remodelling works were undertaken. It is also recorded that further renovation works were undertaken in 1813. The footprint and overall construction of the Chapel building appears to have remained unchanged for the last 130 years.

The survey revealed three phases for the fireplace dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The first phase of fireplace, dating to the 17th century, is all but lost. No historic fabric survives in the upstanding fabric exposed through the works. The only evidence survives as a scar for an earlier hearth in the floor. This early fireplace would have been set at an angle to the room, allowing heat to be directed away from the door and into the main body of the room.

The second phase which dates to the 1712 conversion can be seen in the construction of the current chimney breast, which protrudes into the room. This squared the fireplace to the walls, directing the heat towards the southern wall and doorway. This was brick construction which would have had an open fire with a firebox around 1m wide.

The third phase of construction dates to 1813 and saw the insertion of a range evidenced by the inner brick structure. The bulk of the material within the current fireplace, including the flue, all relate to this phase of construction.