Oxhey Chapel
Encyclopedia
Oxhey Chapel is a redundant
Anglican
chapel in Oxhey
, a suburb of Watford
, Hertfordshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The chapel stands, surrounded by 1940s housing in South Oxhey between a modern church and its vicarage
, some 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the centre of Watford.
as a private chapel for his family and staff who lived nearby at Oxhey Place. It is probably on the site of an earlier monastic
church. In 1649 during the Civil War
following the Battle of Uxbridge, it was used by Cromwell's
Parliamentary forces as a store and a barracks
. During this time they damaged the chapel, took lead from the roof to make musket balls, and created a new door in the east wall. In 1688 Sir John Bucknall became the owner of the house. He blocked the east door and added a reredos
to the east end of the chapel. The wood for this came from the house which he had largely rebuilt. In 1704 a bellcote and a hipped
, tiled roof were added to the chapel. The interior was restored in 1712, and the reredos was whitewash
ed. The chapel was used for worship until 1799, but after that it was used for storage.
In 1852 it was restored
for T. Estcourt to be used again for worship by those living in the nearby hamlet. The whitewash was removed from the reredos, and the old pews and pulpit
were replaced. In 1897 vestries
were added, the windows were restored and the pews were rearranged in collegiate
manner. This was paid for by the owner of Oxhey Place at that time, Thomas Blackwell, the co-founder of Crosse & Blackwell
, the architect being J. E. K. Cutts. During the 20th century the fabric of the chapel deteriorated, and in the winter of 1962–63 part of the roof fell in. Repairs were carried out, including complete replacement of the roof and the bellcote. Although the chapel returned into use, it was eventually declared redundant, and in 1977 was vested
in the Redundant Church Fund, the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is still consecrated
and is used at times for weddings.
and red brick, arranged in alternating squares forming a chequerwork pattern. The dressings are in stone, and the roof is tiled. Its plan is that of a rectangle with a narthex
projecting to the west. The entrance has a moulded
Tudor arched surround, with the date 1897 in the spandrel
s. On each side of the narthex is a two-light window, and above it is a four-light window. Above this is a stone cornice
, and a brick gable
with a stone coping
. On the roof is a 20th-century octagonal wooden bellcote, with an ogee
-headed cupola
. At the corners of the chapel are stone quoins
. Along the north and south sides are three-light windows, and a brick parapet
. Between the windows on the north side is a 19th-century brick buttress
. At the east end is a four-light window, above which is a brick gable containing a plaque
with the dates 1612 and 1963.
pilaster
s and an entablature
. The reredos contains two twisted Solomonic column
s framing panels containing the Ten Commandments
, and outside them are panels with the Lord's Prayer
and the Creed. At the top of the reredos is an open pediment
enclosing a flaming urn. Above the central panels is a cartouche
, and over the side panels are smaller closed pediments. The sanctuary is paved with black and white marble
. The roof is in five bays
. The wooden font
dates from the 17th century. It has an octagonal base, a richly carved circular bowl, and a dome-shaped cover. From the roof hangs an eight-branch candelabrum. In the chapel is a wall tomb to Sir James Altham, who died in 1616, and his last wife Helen, who died in 1638. It consists of two praying figures facing each other in an alabaster
and marble frame, consisting of Corinthian columns and an open segmental pediment containing a cartouche flanked by obelisk
s. At the west end is a marble memorial tablet to John Askill Bucknall dated 1797 by C. Regnant.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
chapel in Oxhey
Oxhey
Oxhey is a suburb of the borough of Watford in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is located at and forms part of the Watford post town....
, a suburb of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The chapel stands, surrounded by 1940s housing in South Oxhey between a modern church and its vicarage
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, some 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the centre of Watford.
History
The chapel was built in 1612 by Sir James AlthamJames Altham
-Early Life:Altham was descended from Christopher Altham of Girlington, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the third son of James Altham of Mark Hall, Latton, in Essex, Sheriff of London in 1557, and sheriff of Essex in 1570, by Elizabeth Blancke, daughter of Thomas Blancke of London,...
as a private chapel for his family and staff who lived nearby at Oxhey Place. It is probably on the site of an earlier monastic
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
church. In 1649 during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
following the Battle of Uxbridge, it was used by Cromwell's
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
Parliamentary forces as a store and a barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
. During this time they damaged the chapel, took lead from the roof to make musket balls, and created a new door in the east wall. In 1688 Sir John Bucknall became the owner of the house. He blocked the east door and added a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
to the east end of the chapel. The wood for this came from the house which he had largely rebuilt. In 1704 a bellcote and a hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
, tiled roof were added to the chapel. The interior was restored in 1712, and the reredos was whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
ed. The chapel was used for worship until 1799, but after that it was used for storage.
In 1852 it was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
for T. Estcourt to be used again for worship by those living in the nearby hamlet. The whitewash was removed from the reredos, and the old pews and pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
were replaced. In 1897 vestries
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
were added, the windows were restored and the pews were rearranged in collegiate
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
manner. This was paid for by the owner of Oxhey Place at that time, Thomas Blackwell, the co-founder of Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell is a food production brand which has been in existence since 1706.Originally trading under the Jackson brand and then West and Wyatt, the company was purchased in 1830 by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell...
, the architect being J. E. K. Cutts. During the 20th century the fabric of the chapel deteriorated, and in the winter of 1962–63 part of the roof fell in. Repairs were carried out, including complete replacement of the roof and the bellcote. Although the chapel returned into use, it was eventually declared redundant, and in 1977 was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Redundant Church Fund, the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is still consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
and is used at times for weddings.
Exterior
Oxhey Chapel is constructed in knapped flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and red brick, arranged in alternating squares forming a chequerwork pattern. The dressings are in stone, and the roof is tiled. Its plan is that of a rectangle with a narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
projecting to the west. The entrance has a moulded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
Tudor arched surround, with the date 1897 in the spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
s. On each side of the narthex is a two-light window, and above it is a four-light window. Above this is a stone cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
, and a brick gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
with a stone coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
. On the roof is a 20th-century octagonal wooden bellcote, with an ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
-headed cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
. At the corners of the chapel are stone quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
. Along the north and south sides are three-light windows, and a brick parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
. Between the windows on the north side is a 19th-century brick buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
. At the east end is a four-light window, above which is a brick gable containing a plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
with the dates 1612 and 1963.
Interior
The chapel contains a double row of stalls facing each other in collegiate fashion. The west door is surrounded by a doorcase consisting of carved CorinthianCorinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
. The reredos contains two twisted Solomonic column
Solomonic column
The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew...
s framing panels containing the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, and outside them are panels with the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
and the Creed. At the top of the reredos is an open pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
enclosing a flaming urn. Above the central panels is a cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
, and over the side panels are smaller closed pediments. The sanctuary is paved with black and white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. The roof is in five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The wooden font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 17th century. It has an octagonal base, a richly carved circular bowl, and a dome-shaped cover. From the roof hangs an eight-branch candelabrum. In the chapel is a wall tomb to Sir James Altham, who died in 1616, and his last wife Helen, who died in 1638. It consists of two praying figures facing each other in an alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
and marble frame, consisting of Corinthian columns and an open segmental pediment containing a cartouche flanked by obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
s. At the west end is a marble memorial tablet to John Askill Bucknall dated 1797 by C. Regnant.