Tyne and Wear HER(7471): Clara Vale, Methodist Church Hall - Details
7471
Gateshead
Clara Vale, Methodist Church Hall
Clara Vale
NZ16SW
Civil
Meeting Hall
Church Hall
Early Modern
C19
Extant Building
A good example of a corrugated iron church building. A simple box with a porch and rectangular hoodmoulded window openings and is painted green. Used as a Sunday School {2}. DESCRIPTION
Single storey former chapel with gallery. Jade green painted corrugated iron walls and roof with white painted timber windows. Rectangular window frames with hood moulding over double lancet lights each with a transom to the centre. Entrance porch to north with 1st floor window above. Originally there were 2 vestries to the southern end but the timber partitions were removed (and sold) in 1899 due to space constraints. There are 3 bays to each side. The dimensions are 38’ long, 21’ wide with a height of 10’ to the eaves and 19’ to the ridge. Electric lighting was fitted in 1903, which was powered by the colliery. MATERIALS Corrugated iron, timber DATES 1897 planned & built
1909 became Sunday School STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
This former chapel is a good example of the building type, which was once a common sight in the North East but is becoming increasingly rare. They arose in special social and economic circumstances in which Methodism was very popular among the mining communities who had restrictive financial resources, and were initially intended to be temporary structures. The colour creates a strong visual impression, making a cheerful and distinctive contribution to the Conservation Area, and the window detailing adds to the building’s distinctiveness. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The plot of land on which the chapel is built was initially rented from the Coal Company for £1 per annum. LOCAL LIST
1339
6486
NZ13396486
Gateshead Council Local List Fact Sheet X20/LL/091; Gateshead Council, April 1999, Conservation Area Policy Guidelines, Strategies and Character Statements, Clara Vale Conservation Area, p 33; Harry Watson, 1997, Clara Vale - The Story of a Pit Village