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Monument details

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1078 to 1896 Chapel, 11th century and later

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval to Modern - 1078 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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Description from record TQ 76 NE 2:
[TQ 7524 6789] ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHAPEL [A.T.] (1)

St. Bartholomew's Chapel, High Street, Chatham, is the only surviving portion of the Hospital of St. Bartholomew, said to have been founded by Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, 1077-1108. The hospital was not suppressed and in 1837 the institution consisted of five persons. It was later rebuilt in the 1860's (TQ 76 NE 391). The Chapel is Norman and later, wholly restored in the 19th c. It is now a chapel of ease to the parish church. (2-4)

In normal use: notice board reads:- "St. Bartholomew's Hospital Chapel. Founded by Bishop Gundulph in 1078." (5)

St Bartholomew's Chapel. Grade B. This is the Chapel and only surviving portion of the buildings of St Bartholomew's Hospital, founded in 1078. It is now a chapel of ease attached to the Parish Church. The apsidal-ended Chancel and Chancel arch are Norman, but the Nave is mostly Early English. Norman piscina and apse. The whole building has been restored in the 19th century. (6)
Additional bibliography. (7-8)
Excavation was carried out in 1978 in the area close to the entrance to St. Bartholomew's Chapel. A substantial flint and lime mortar wall was investigated to clarify its relationship with other structures and to investigate its date. Trenching revealed a variety of pottery ranging from Roman to modern in date, a 15th C. column base, and a clay pipe stem of the 18th Century. (9)
Additional bibliography. (10-12)
Additional bibliography - not consulted. (13-16)

It was partly restored by Dean Pratt in 1724 and extend soon after by Wiliam Walter, but was not properly restored and rebuilt until the late 19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott.(18)

The following text is from the original listed building designation:

CHATHAM
TQ7567NW HIGH STREET 762-1/3/15 (South side) 29/10/52 St Bartholomew's Chapel
GV II*
Chapel, hospital Chapel, now chapel of ease. Founded 1078 by Gundulph as part of St Bartholomew's Hospital, completed c1120, altered C13, nave partly rebuilt 1725, restored and N aisle added 1896 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. MATERIALS: flint and rubble with limestone dressings and a tiled roof. PLAN/STYLE: Norman apse, Early English N chancel, chapel and nave, Early English Gothic Revival style N aisle and SE vestry. EXTERIOR: apse has a half conical roof with 3 round-arched C11 windows with incised zig-zag decoration, and taller chancel gable. N chapel gable has tufa quoins, 2 lancets and a quatrefoil, with exposed truss, and 2-window N side. C19 N aisle has 3 pairs of round-arched windows and sill band with low buttresses between the right and middle pairs and to the right. W end has gabled nave and lower N aisle with exposed trusses, each with 2 lancets, the aisle with a quatrefoil above, and a buttress between. Mid C19 coped, gabled porch with a 2-centre chamfered arch to a similar W door with strap hinges. S elevation to nave has 2 small flat-headed windows, and a lower gabled SE vestry with a W arched door and paired E lancets. To the W end of the nave ridge is a steep square pyramidal spirelet with swept eaves. INTERIOR: chancel has a C13 round-arched sedilia with attached black marble columns, and a round chancel arch; vestry has a carved C12 piscina set on the top of a column with moulded base and capital, attributed to Hugh de Trottescliffe; restored round arches to N chapel and chancel arch: 3-bay nave with round columns with waterleaf capitals and checked arches. C19 roof has ashlar posts and collars. HISTORY: the only surviving part of the former St Bartholomew's Hospital, built outside the East Gate by Bishop Gundulph, and associated with his works at Rochester Cathedral. Used as a dwelling after the Reformation, the chapel was bought back and restored in 1725. The cloister lay to the S. Group value with the surrounding walls (qv). (The Buildings of England: Newman J: West Kent and the Weald:
London: 1976-: 202; Greenwood EJ: The Hospital of St Bartholomew Rochester: Rochester: 1962-).
Listing NGR: TQ7524967892 (19)

<01> O.S. 1/500 1866. (OS Card Reference). SKE47784.

<02> V.C.H. Kent, 2, 1926, 216-17 (R.C. Fowler) (OS Card Reference). SKE50758.

<03> "Med. Rel. Houses, England & Wales" 1953, 263 (Knowles & Hadcock) (OS Card Reference). SKE32672.

<04> M.H.L.G. 958/11/A, March 1951) 4 (OS Card Reference). SKE46257.

<05> F1 CFW 03-NOV-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42406.

<06> DOE (HHR) Borough of Chatham 1971 1 (OS Card Reference). SKE39903.

<07> Arch Cant 29 1911 260 (A Hussey) (OS Card Reference). SKE34963.

<08> Arch Cant 60 1947 16-17 (FC Elliston Erwood) (OS Card Reference). SKE35315.

<09> Hayes, J. P., Williams, D. E. and Payne, P. R., 1983, Report of an excavation in the grounds of St Bartholomew's Chapel, Chatham (Article in serial). SWX7544.

<10> Med Rel Houses Eng and Wales 1971 351 (D Knowles and RN Hadcock) (OS Card Reference). SKE46798.

<11> JBAA 11 1855 29-31 (TJ Pettigrew) (OS Card Reference). SKE44861.

<12> Bldgs of Eng West Kent and the Weald 1980 202 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38044.

<13> The Antiquary IV 80 1873 134 146 (OS Card Reference). SKE49951.

<14> Tanners Notitia Monastica 1787 Kent XIII (Naismith) (OS Card Reference). SKE49810.

<15> Trans RHS 3 5 6 1912 156 (OS Card Reference). SKE50661.

<16> Long Ago V 1 1873 312 (OS Card Reference). SKE46178.

<17> Field report for monument TQ 76 NE 2 - November, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4027.

<18> RCHME, 1993, Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England: Compilation of Kent Hospitals Record Sheets, nbr 101365 (Unpublished document). SKE6841.

<19> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading

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