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THIS is Chapel Mews, a new
 development in
Barker Street. I hope that anyone writing to the residents will be
precise with their address as there is already a Chapel Mews in Market
Street.
However, the three homes have
been allocated Barker Street numbers.
The original Chapel Mews is a
group
of homes - built in 1985 - that stand on the site of the former Baptist Church.
The chapel now
occupies the former schoolrooms standing behind it.
The development under construction -
in the Nantwich conservation area -
comprises three three-storey town houses. The new Chapel Mews is clearly named after the Baptist Chapel which was built in Barker
Street in 1725 on the site now occupied by the new houses. They stand on land
 next to the car park of 25 Barker Street.
I wonder if the wall (right) is a piece of Nantwich history? Is it an
original wall from the old chapel? If so, from what period of its life?
Does it look older than 50 years old? If so, that would mean it was standing
when the chapel was demolished.
When I discovered the
houses the other week I was at a loss to recall what was there
previously. What had been knocked down? The answer would appear to be
the chapel. The land must have lain empty ever since 1957. As I was
taking pictures I asked a couple who emerged from an adjoining house
what had been on the site and was told that it was where people
had been parking their cars. Yes, now I recall the site.
YOU might have noticed from previous Letters
from Nantwich that I am not too happy about the influx of houses in
Nantwich. But this development gets my vote. Yes, really! It is tidying up an
eyesore site (although I'm sorry for the people who must now
find somewhere else to park) and is in keeping with the area. Although
it is a three-storey development, the top storey is in the roof - attic
style - as can be seen from the fact that the upper joists are floor
strength and not just enough to hold up a ceiling. There
are also old-style features (the lintels over the windows and arched
doorways) and although the bricks are new, not salvaged from a
demolished building, they are mellow and blend in nicely with adjoining
properties.
lWhere are the "affordable" homes that the UK is supposed to be having?
Here, actually.
l In
the book, "Lost Houses in Nantwich", Andrew Lamberton and Robin Gray relate that in 1772 "the Baptist
cause fell on hard times and the Chapel closed" only to be leased, five
years later, to the local Methodist Society. John Wesley preached there
three times - in 1779, 1780 and 1781. About 1812, the Baptist cause was revived but
later, in a row over it having been used by another denomination, the chapel
was closed and remained so for 40 years until 1862. It was officially reopened,
after repairs, in 1865 and was used by the Baptists until they moved to Market
Street in 1873. The building was then used by the Order of the Good Templars and
the Salvation Army before it became a baker's warehouse. It was
demolished in October 1957. |
