The Octagon Chapel in
Milsom Street,
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England was built in 1767 and has been designated as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
The building was designed as a church by the architect
Timothy Lightholder (or Lightoler),
whose specific brief was to produce a structure which would be warm, comfortable and well lit. The Octagon fulfilled all of these requirements, and it became a fashionable church. Eminent and distinguished visitors, including
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
, made a point of engaging a pew for as long as they stayed in the city, hiring it at the same time as they hired their lodgings. The most expensive of these were like small rooms, each with its own fireplace and easy chairs. Between service and sermon, an interval was allowed during which footmen poked the fires and saw that their master and mistress were comfortable. The church, as a popular venue to "see and be seen", was not popular with The 'Enthusiastics', later known as
Methodists.
William Herschel
Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline H ...
was appointed as the organist in 1766 and gave his introductory concert on 1 January 1767.
As the organ was still incomplete he performed his own compositions including a
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
, an
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
concerto and a
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
sonata
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
. The organ was completed in October 1767.
The organ was built by
John Snetzler
John Snetzler (or Schnetzler) was an organ builder of Swiss origin, who worked mostly in England. Born in Schaffhausen in 1710, he trained with the firm of Egedacher in Passau and came to London about 1741. When he retired in 1781, his business ...
. Part of the keyboards and pipes have survived and are on display at the
Herschel Museum of Astronomy
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy at 19 New King Street, Bath, England, is a museum that was inaugurated in 1981. It is located in a town house that was formerly the home of William Herschel and his sister Caroline.
Location
The museum is si ...
.
In 1858 William Connor Magee published a book of sermons he had given at the chapel.
The vaults of this building were let out to a wine merchant, which gave rise to the verses by
Christopher Anstey
Christopher Anstey (31 October 1724 – 3 August 1805) was an English poet who also wrote in Latin. After a period managing his family's estates, he moved permanently to Bath and died after a long public life there. His poem, ''The New Bath Gui ...
:
Spirits above and spirits below,
Spirits of Bliss and spirits of woe,
The spirits above are spirits Divine,
The spirits below are spirits of wine.
Since the building was leasehold, it was never consecrated, so when it fell into disuse in the 1890s
Mallett Antiques
Mallett Antiques is an "antiques" dealer with galleries in London and New York who regularly exhibit at the International Fine Art & Antique Fairs.
Founded in 1865m, Mallett & Son Antiques is one of England's oldest dealers of fine antiquities. Th ...
took it over. New showrooms were linked into each side of the church, with workshops and storage in the basement. A
gas engine
A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a gaseous fuel, such as coal gas, producer gas, biogas, landfill gas or natural gas. In the United Kingdom, the term is unambiguous. In the United States, due to the widespread use of ...
was installed to drive the polishing
lathe
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...
s, work the lift, make the electric light and, by means of a fan, circulate air through every part of the building.
Mallets was described in Drapers Record, 26 December 1908, as `the most sumptuous shop in Europe, the wares of which include practically priceless curios and treasures of historic association. Probably not under one roof may be found more millionaires in the course of a year than at Mallett's, in Bath, in the whole of the Kingdom.'
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
it was used as a food office and after the war was restored, opening as an art exhibition space for the
Bath Festival of 1951.
It later served as the headquarters of the
Royal Photographic Society
The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...
.
In 2004 the local authority, Bath and North East Somerset announced a deal with the L and R Group to convert much of the site to retail and restaurant use but ensure the Grade II* listed building was maintained and improved. In 2008 to 2009 the old showrooms were converted for retail and restaurant use but the original Octagon Chapel remained unfurnished and with no permanent tenant for some years and was used frequently for exhibitions, art shows, retail, catering, events and festivals. In 2015 the former chapel became a Burger & Lobster restaurant. However this closed in January 2017.
As of March 2019, the Octagon Chapel is leased as a bar and restaurant t
The Botanist
References
{{reflist
Churches completed in 1767
Buildings and structures in Bath, Somerset
1767 establishments in England
Octagonal churches in the United Kingdom