The Octagon Chapel is a Unitarian Chapel located in Colegate in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...

, England. The congregation is a member of the

General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC or colloquially British Unitarians) is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians, and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Irelan ...

History

The chapel is 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 ...

. Completed in 1756 by the architect Thomas Ivory, it is perfectly octagonal, and a fine example of English

Neo-Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

architecture. Originally built as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

Chapel, the building now serves the Unitarian Community. Theophilus Browne was appointed minister in 1809, but was paid to leave the following year. William Taylor, R. H. Mottram, John Taylor and Susannah Taylor, Samuel Bourn and

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoreti ...

and

Peter Finch Martineau Peter Finch Martineau (12 June 1755 – 2 December 1847) was an English businessman and a philanthropist, with particular interest in improving the lives of disadvantaged people through education. Life and family A Unitarian, he was born into th ...

are all associated with the Chapel. Composer

Edward Taylor Edward Taylor (1642 – June 29, 1729) was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician of English origin. His work remained unpublished for some 200 years but since then has established him as one of the foremost writers of his time. His po ...

was organist for a while, and in 1812 published a collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes for the chapel.

Community

Unitarians have no dogma or creed, and take inspiration from all religious teachings, as well as from science and the arts. * Bring and share lunches * Craft Group * LGBTQ+ Coffee and cake * Engagement groups

Life Events

The Octagon hosts ceremonies to mark life's big transitions. Unitarians believe that everyone has the right to seek meaning. Services are not bound by tradition and all are free to express their personal truth.

Octagon Concert Series

The Octagon has a long musical heritage. It hosts the Octagon Concert Series, which, because no performer receives a fee or expenses, all money raised is donated to charity.

References

External links

*
The Octagon Chapel on the Norfolk Churches website

Unitarians in Britain

Octagon Music Series & Octagon Singers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich, Octagon Chapel

Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...