Walpole Old Chapel

Walpole, Suffolk | Listed Grade II*

Transport

The nearest railway station is Halesworth, approx 2 miles away, thence by taxi.

History and Architecture

Walpole Old Chapel was adapted from a domestic building following the Act of Toleration of 1689, when six trustees leased land and a former farmhouse  on the present site, ideally situated a little away from the village.

Today the galleried and box-pewed interior vividly conveys the setting and atmosphere of 17th- and 18th-century dissenting worship. A row of three tall circular timber columns supports the roof but the focus of the interior is the pulpit which has an immense hexagonal canopy with an ogee domed top and a ball finial suspended from the rafters. Two tall round-arched windows on each side of the pulpit light the chapel.  

Outside is a simple grassed graveyard with many low headstones.

Repair and Regeneration

HCT has undertaken a programme of repairs and modernisation at Walpole to augment the chapel's use for concerts and other events during the year by the local committee.  This has included:-

      .  the re-instatement of a historic paint scheme for the interior and

      .  the re-decoration of the exterior.

The chapel is available for hire and for weddings.

A small display of historic items of interest is arranged in the vestry.

To find out more, visit Walpole's website.