Elston Chapel is a redundant Anglican church to the north-east of the village of Elston, Nottinghamshire, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade I

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 ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. It stands in a field and is described as a "solitary barn-like chapel".

History

Formerly a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, the chapel dates from the 12th century, with additions and alterations made in the 14th and 16th centuries. The chapel was created as a separate

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

in 1584 and later became a chapelry to East Stoke. In the early 19th century its interior was fitted with pine pews and a gallery. However, by 1872 it was disused and was transferred to the parish of All Saints, Elston. There is speculation that the chapel was formerly the chapel of a medieval

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

hospital dedicated to Saint Leonard. The church was declared redundant on 23 September 1976, and was

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property is acquired by some person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vested right to an ...

in the Churches Conservation Trust on 9 February 1976.

Architecture

The chapel is constructed in coursed

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

stone with tile roofs, and consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and a smaller and lower

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

. In the west wall are two small rectangular windows with a larger rectangular window above. In the north wall of the nave is a two-light window with

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...

arches and, to the east in a slightly projecting bay is a single-light window with a pointed arch. The north wall of the chancel contains a two-light window under a flat arch. The east end of the chancel has

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es, and contains a three-light window with ogee arches under a flat head. The date 1577 is inscribed over the window, and at the apex of the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

is the fragment of a cross. The south wall of the chancel and the nave both contain a two-light window under ogee arches. The south doorway dates from the 12th century, and is in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

style with a round arch and zigzag decoration. Inside the church fragments of the 19th-century fittings still present. There are several layers of paintings on the walls, including

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

biblical texts and, on the north wall, a large royal coat of arms.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 12th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Nottinghamshire Church of England church buildings in Nottinghamshire English churches with Norman architecture Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust

History

Architecture

See also

References