Description

WEST TISBURY PYTHOUSE PARK
ST 92 NW
4/308 Chapel immediately north
of Pythouse

GV II*

Private chapel to country house. Circa 1827. Built by John Benett of Pythouse
(qv) for his wife née Lucy Lambert of Boyton. Ashlar, the rear (east) wall is
ashlar-faced brick, and with slate-clad brick vaulted roof with gabled ends.
Plan: single cell rectangular plan orientated north-south and with entrance at the centre of the long west front and external steps on the east side down to the
burial vault below. Gothick style. Exterior: The salient feature is the large
buttresses on all sides and angle buttresses on the corners, all with pinnacles
and set-offs (the crocketed pinnacles are missing). 1:3:1 bay west front, the
centre bay gabled and with pointed arch niche above doorway, flanked by large
pointed arch windows and narrower blind end bays; moulded string above the
windows. Similar but blind rear (east) elevation with steps at centre down to
vault below. Gable ends have large pointed arch window, that at south end has
cill at ground level. All the moulded window dressings and frames have been
removed. Interior: Plastered interior walls and 5-bay plastered brick lierne-
vaulted ceiling with moulded ribs with bosses at the intersections and springing
from shafts on the walls with small capitals. On the east wall the shafts are
missing and the two small fireplaces have lost their chimneypieces. The burial
vault below has two segmental arcades supporting narrow transverse vaults in ashlar with four tiers of coffin-chambers on either side.
Note: It is said that the consecration of the chapel was refused by the Bishop of
Salisbury. At the time of inspection (December 1989) the chapel was derelict and
overgrown.
Sources: N Pevsner, Buildings of England, Wiltshire, pp 356, 357.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17542976

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings