Unitarian Chapel St Peter’s Square Stockport

Reference           Civil Engineer and Architects Journal May 1842 page 175

STOCKPORT. - The opening of the New Unitarian Church, a unique and very elegant edifice, took place on 23rd. March last. The site is in St. Peter's Square. The body of the chapel is a parallelogram, externally 63 feet by 44 feet, with a projection at the south end about 30 feet wide by 14 feet, in which is placed the principal entrance, and the staircases to the boys' and girls' schools, and to the organ gallery. At the northerly end there is also a projection about 24 feet wide, by 6 feet, in which is placed the pulpit and the communion. The interior of the chapel will accommodate 400 persons: there are no galleries except for the organ and choir, in the recess at the south end. The exterior projection at the south end is flanked by double bold buttresses, having circular shafts at their external angles, with bases and capitals to the same, the whole being surmounted with triangular headed canopies, out of which proceed octagonal turrets, surmounted by pinnacles, ending in carved finials, about 50 feet above the level of the street, and having an enriched corbel table round the foot of each pinnacle. Betwixt the buttresses to the south front there is a splayed recess, surmounted with a pointed arched head, with hood mould thereto, terminating upon carved heads. In the lower part of this recess is placed the principal entrance to the chapel; it has splayed jambs, and a pointed arched head, surmounted by a moulded triangular headed canopy, terminating with a carved finial. Over the door are three lancet windows, united together by their hood moulds, which terminate upon foliaged bosses, the centre window being higher than the side ones, and the upper end of the canopy of the door stands out quite clear of the lower part of the centre window. The gable in the south front has a moulded canopy terminating with a carved finial on the apex. The ends of the chapel, extending beyond the projections to the same, are finished with a moulded coping, terminating in moulded canopies at their lower ends. The sides of the chapel are divided into six compartments, by broad flat buttresses, with one set off, and terminating at the upper ends with the overhanging parapet, which is supported by moulded stone corbels betwixt them, with cast iron moulded gutters thereon, and in each compartment is placed a lancet window. The upper base moulding is carried along the sides of the building, and in the space under it, betwixt the buttresses, are placed the windows to give light to the schools. The whole of the exterior of the building is faced with stone, hammer‑dressed, except the ashlar dressings and moulded work, which is tooled; the stone for the former is from the Kerridge delphs; and for the latter, from the Yorkshire delphs; and it is worthwhile noticing the greatly improved effect which the narrow courses from the Kerridge delphs give to the building from the usually wider courses which are obtained from other delphs. The entire cost of the building, including the additional expense incurred by the peculiar nature of the foundations, will not exceed ,3000. The chapel has been designed by, and built under the superintendence of Mr. Richard Tattersall, Architect, of Manchester. [Civil Engineer and Architects Journal May 1842 page 175]