Chapel of St Catherine, Abbotsbury

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The chapel of St Catherine of Alexandria, Abbotsbury, Dorset was built around the year 1400 on a small hill outide the village. It looks over the Dorset coast and more particularly, the 18 mile long shingle bank of Chesil Beach and, beyond, the distant Isle of Portland. It was probably an adjunct of Abbotsbury Priory and may have been used as a place of private prayer. It was always a visible beacon or sea mark that ships used for navigation, and there is a suggestion that in later times a navigation light was kept burning at the top of its stair turret.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Chantry chapels, Winchester Cathedral

Chantry chapels were built mainly in churches and cathedrals towards the east end of the building. They were usually closed, with entry by a door, and usually had an altar and a bequest of money attached to them. This was used to pay a priest to say prayers and services for the soul of  the builder of the chapel after his death. In many, perhaps most, this was expected to continue in perpetuity.

In England they flourished from the late 1100s to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Many chantries, after closure, became Lady Chapels. Most English Cathedrals have chantry chapels, sometimes large, often relatively modest. On our first visit to Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire we were surprised to see the scale and opulence of the chantries.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Former Congregational Chapel, Monmouth

What to do with old buildings that no longer fulfill their original purpose has always been something of a problem. Something of an answer, more often than not, involves converting them to housing. I've seen windmills, water mills, factories, pubs, hospitals, prisons, maltings, breweries, warehouses, post offices, and many other kinds of building converted to single or multiple occupancy housing. The Congregational Chapel, Glendower Street, Monmouth, is an example of a religious building that has become housing (in 2002). It was built in the town's backstreets in 1843-4, in the classical style, by William Armstrong of Bristol. The facade has been sympathetically painted  and only the palms, the absence of an information board, the name-plate "Glendower House" and the blocked ground floor windows, give a hint that it is no longer a place of worship.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Hereford Cathedral crypt

A crypt is a room beneath a church, often used as a chapel, or a place for coffins religious relics and artefacts. In the UK crypts are found in both parish churches and major churches such as cathedrals, though more commonly in the latter. Because they are below ground level they are often unlit by natural light. However some do have this feature built in with windows usually above eye level. Hereford Cathedral's crypt serves as a chapel, receives natural light from the north, south and east sides, and is located beneath the Lady Chapel.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100