Euxton Hall Chapel is situated in the village of

Euxton Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 9,993, but is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to housing developments in the village, including at Buckshaw. ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It was designed by architect E. W. Pugin (1834–1875), and built in 1866 as a private chapel for the Anderton family. Set within the grounds of Euxton Hall, and a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

within its own right, the small Gothic chapel has been described as an architectural gem. Both

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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

and the

Ancient Monuments Society The Ancient Monuments Society (AMS) is a learned society and registered charity in England and Wales, founded in 1924 "for the study and conservation of ancient monuments, historic buildings and fine old craftsmanship". Since October 2021, the or ...

acknowledge that it is one of the important works of this

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. The

Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by l ...

has also recognised the building's national importance. Of particular interest is the large

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window manufactured by Hardman & Co., set in the west wall and dated 14 October 1866. It incorporates the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the Anderton family, which is repeated in the encaustic floor tiles of the centre

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

. Herbert Minton, the first manufacturer to produce these tiles in 1830, worked closely with Pugin in their design and manufacture for numerous buildings, notably the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. In 1866, the architectural period of the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

was at its peak, and Euxton Hall Chapel, having been designed by Pugin, was arguably one of the finest Victorian chapels to be found in England. The exterior of the chapel is almost entirely Pugin. The South front has three pairs of

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

, a typical medieval feature, with each arch having a pair of intricate detailed carvings. The shaped slate tiles on the roof of the Chapel form

geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

patterning, a feature also associated with the work of Pugin. In 2004 the chapel was majorly restored by conservationist Andrew Gray and converted by him to a private residence.

Notes

* * * ''The

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

of Lancashire'' (Volume 6, page 140) *

References

External links

* Pugin Society News relating to Euxton Hall Chape

The Pugin Society

Hardman & Co.
* {{Borough of Chorley buildings Churches in the Borough of Chorley Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Chapels in England

See also

Notes

References

External links