St. Anne's Chapel - The Future
The Town Council is developing an application bid in the hope of obtaining Heritage Lottery Funding to-
1. Repair and restore St Anne’s Chapel.
2. Promote the 3 C’s- Creativity, Community & Culture, and the town’s heritage, by developing and enhancing St Anne’s Chapel into a contemporary community gathering place, St Anne's Cultural Centre.
3. Develop a cultural and educational programme to encourage people to learn about and enjoy heritage.
Natasha Lewis (Community Development Clerk), said, “The Town Council is interested to hear what you have to say regarding this proposed project and any further views that you have on this building”.
email natasha.lewis@barnstapletowncouncil.co.uk
St. Anne's Chapel - The History
The Chapel of St Anne’s at Barnstaple is a unique relic of old Barum and retains its picturesque medieval appearance.
This curious old building neighbouring the church and half hidden from view among high buildings and shops is the sole survivor of the chapels and the chantries that existed before the Reformation. It is in a well kept churchyard, shaded by trees which add character to the building.
There is no recorded date for the erection of the building, but with the exception of the South Porch, it is generally believed to have been built during the early part of the 14th century. The undercroft or crypt is much older and was probably used as a charnel house for the storage of bones.
An early deed states that in the year 1449 John Holman, the rector of Heanton and afterwards Vicar of Barnstaple (of which town he was native), endowed the chapel with income from various properties so that it became a chantry chapel with a chaplain to pray for the souls of the departed.
The chapel was used as a Grammar School until the opening of a new Grammar School in 1910 at the Newport end of Barnstaple (now Park School).
Of all those educated at the Grammar School in the chapel, the one most remembered today is John Gay. His most famous work, the Beggar’s Opera, is still being performed, as is the Threepenny Opera, a modern version based on Gay’s work, created by Brecht and Weil in the early 20th century.
The History of the St. Anne’s Chapel Building
St Anne’s Chapel is one of great antiquity with an interesting interior, consisting of a crypt or undercroft pierced by narrow slits or windows deeply splayed internally and a western doorway into the churchyard. One of the original small window openings of the crypt still exists by the lower part of the stairs. The others (five in number) have been enlarged.
The original opening is quite small and indicates that the crypt was comparatively dark. This part of the chapel is believed to be much older than the remainder and according to some authorities it was a ‘charnel house’, where bones were stored.
A remarkable feature of this crypt are the oak pillars with braces and beams over, supporting the floor of the chapel, which is the same dimensions as the crypt, measuring 37 feet in length by 17 feet 6 inches in breadth.
The chapel has four windows and a south doorway to which access was probably obtained by a flight of external steps.
To this building was added a quadrangular porch ornamented with some hideous looking gargoyles and finished with a fine embattled parapet. This and the stairs were built against it about the year 1550 or a little earlier. Before this time the steps were doubtless in the open, as in many other ancient chapels. The windows are original except the one at the western end of the chapel which was inserted about 1899 at the time that the bell turret was built (or rebuilt). These windows are charming examples of 14th century tracery-perfectly authentic. The internal walls were probably plastered from the first and the rear arches of the windows are projected so as to stop the plastering.
A very graceful piece of work is the roof. Open timbered and of a steep pitch, it was (before restoration) sealed with plaster. This was removed, the timber cleaned and the roof restored to its original proportion as a cradle roof, consisting of a series of rafters and arch braces set closely together to give the appearance of a continuous arch.
On the south side is a piscina (a perforated stone basin near the altar for carrying away water used in rinsing the chalice etc..) It is of the decorated period, of the same date as the remainder of the chapel – regrettably the shelf or basin has been destroyed.
The whole of the edifice is built in random rubble walling of local stone of a considerable thickness, the colour effect being very pleasing. Particularly interesting is the entrance doorway with an elliptical arch head, having bold paterae (a decorated oval or circular ornament resembling a shallow dish) carved in the hollow mouldings of the jambs and arch.
A bell was once hung in the open turret on the west end gable. It was presented to the school by the late Rev. William Marshall, Vicar of Barnstaple in 1809 and has an inscription to that effect.
The 1869-70 restoration saw a large number of outside improvements including the purchase of premises in Boutport Street in order to widen Paternoster Row and open the view to the Parish Church and St. Anne’s Chapel.
The high brick walls which then surrounded the churchyard were removed and the present four-foot walls of stone and granite coping were built. The new steps leading to the chapel entrance were built, a new cross was added to the east gable and repairs made to the masonry. The grave stones were removed and placed around the boundary walls. The walls of the crypt, which had been buried outside and choked up within by an accumulation of soil, were opened up.
What must always strike the visitor is the height of the ancient churchyard above the level of the church and other nearby buildings and pathways. This is due to centuries of burials. It was the universal custom after each burial to scatter the remaining soil onto the adjacent ground and so gradually this raised the level of the churchyard. The churchyard was closed to burials in 1855.
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