Salem Chapel is in Vicarage Road,

East Budleigh East Budleigh is a small village in East Devon, England. The villages of Yettington, Colaton Raleigh, and Otterton lie to the west, north and east of East Budleigh, with the seaside town of Budleigh Salterton about two miles south. Until th ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England. Initially 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 nam ...

, then a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

chapel, it was later owned by the Assemblies of God, and is now owned by the

Historic Chapels Trust The Historic Chapels Trust is a British Registered Charity set up to care for redundant non- Anglican churches, chapels, and places of worship in England. To date, its holdings encompass various nonconformist Christian denominations and Rom ...

. The chapel, together with the adjacent assembly room and the boundary walls, 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 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 ...

. It is mentioned as the final two words of the short story, "Pomp and Vanities", written by S.Baring-Gould, circa 1865 and contained in his "Book of Ghost Stories", first published in 1903. The final two words, Salem Chapel, are referenced as an example of everything "heaven is not"!

History

The chapel was built in 1719 and enlarged by the addition of further galleries in 1836. In the 1980s it was bought by a private owner who failed to gain support for his plans. The building then fell into disrepair. The Historic Chapels Trust visited it in 1996 and acquired its ownership in 1998. It cost £858,000 to restore the building, this being raised by grants from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, East Devon District Council, and a variety of other sources. It is reputed that during the 18th and 19th centuries the chapel was involved with smuggling, involving its minister Samuel Leat, the smuggled goods being concealed in the chapel's large roof space.

Architecture

The chapel is built in stone which has been rendered, and has a slate roof. It is a square building with a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

projecting at right angles from the rear of the right side. The roof is hipped on all sides. There are two doors in the entrance face which bears a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

plaque inscribed "Salem chapel, built 1719" and a sill inscribed "enlarged 1836". There are two windows on each side and another two windows on the back wall. Internally, over the entrance is a gallery which was part of the original building, and on each side are galleries added in 1836. In the centre of the original gallery is an 18th-century clock. The preaching desk dates probably from the late 19th century as do the benches, and there are some 18th-century

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...

s in the galleries. The ceiling is

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

and is supported by a central steel post. The former central post had been iron but this was replaced during the restoration. The separate assembly room has a rectangular plan and under it is a basement. On its long face is a door between two sash windows. There is another sash window on the left end, and on the right end is a door leading to the basement. The boundary wall is constructed in

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 ...

and brick. On the front wall are two gate piers between which are

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

double gates and a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

overthrow. The overthrow is decorated with scrolls and at its top is a lamp holder.

Present day

Today, the chapel hosts a wide variety of events, including concerts, open days, and occasional services of worship. It is available to hire and is licensed for religious marriages. It may also be used for blessing ceremonies following civil marriages.

References

External links

Photographs following restoration
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Budleigh, Salem Chapel Grade II* listed churches in Devon Religious buildings and structures completed in 1718 18th-century Presbyterian churches Churches preserved by the Historic Chapels Trust Presbyterian churches in England 18th-century churches in the United Kingdom 1718 establishments in England East Devon District

History

Architecture

Present day

See also

References

External links