Bridgwater Unitarian Chapel
Bridgwater Unitarian Chapel
Christ Church Unitarian Chapel on Dampiet Street, Bridgwater, is a Grade II* Georgian meeting house dated 1688, rebuilt in 1788, the oldest Nonconformist chapel in the town.
- Location
- Bridgwater, Somerset
- Country
- England
- County
- Somerset
- City / town
- Bridgwater
- Address
- Dampiet Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 3LZ
- Postcode
- TA6 3LZ
- Built
- Dated 1688; rebuilt 1788; late C19 schoolroom
- Denomination
- Unitarian Church
- Grade
- II*
- Style
- Georgian
- Materials
- Flemish-bond brick with stone dressings; pantile roof
- Grid reference
- ST 299 369
- Opening hours
- The church is now open every Friday from 10am to 12noon.
- Access
- Ramp or level access available on request. Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas
Overview
The congregation was founded in 1662. The first building was demolished by the authorities in 1683 and its contents burned on the Cornhill. Historic England records a chapel dated 1688 and rebuilt 1788: Flemish-bond brick with stone coping, dentilled pediment, plaques and architraves, and a pantile roof. A late-seventeenth-century shell hood survives over the central doors. The interior is largely of 1788 character, with Tuscan columns, barrel-vaulted nave and later polychrome tiles. Samuel Taylor Coleridge preached here in 1797 and 1798. Listed Grade II* on 24 March 1950 (NHLE 1197371); listing NGR ST2996136928. The chapel has appeared on the Heritage at Risk Register for roof, drainage and window repairs.