Hidden houses of worship: discovering the development of England’s Nonconformist chapels

BELOW Ames Cubitt was one of the foremost chapel designers of the 19th century: he scoured Islamic, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic building plans in search of a design that would be both beautiful and serve the purpose of ‘bringing a vast number of people within the range of a single voice’. How well he succeeded is reflected by the fact that his Union Chapel, Islington, now functions as a concert venue as well as a place of worship.

April 1, 2018

There is one problem with England’s superb legacy of Nonconformist architecture (one that is shared by Wales, though Christopher Wakeling’s book is only about England): it is largely unknown because the doors are very often firmly locked. By contrast, many of the UK’s Anglican parish churches are open to anyone who chooses to enter (or, if not, the contact details of the keyholder are usually posted in the porch). We have a lively history in the UK of visiting churches as reservoirs of history and archaeology; these places of worship are seen not only as spiritual spaces, but also as places that can be appreciated in non-religious terms, exemplars of art and architectural styles and mo

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