View source for Dissenters' Chapel, Kensal Green

{{Short description|Part of Kensal Green Cemetery, North Kensington, London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox Historic Site | name = Dissenters' Chapel, Kensal Green| native_name = | image = The Dissenter's Chapel, Kensal Green cemetery - geograph.org.uk - 677264.jpg| image_size = 220| caption = Dissenters' Chapel,<br>Kensal Green Cemetery | locmapin = Greater London | map_width = 220| map_caption = Location in Greater London
| coordinates = {{coord|51.5269|-0.2159|display=inline,title}}
| location = | gbgridref = TQ 239 824| area = | elevation = | formed = | founded = | built = 1831–34| built_for = General Cemetery Company| demolished = | rebuilt = 1997| restored = | restored_by = [[Historic Chapels Trust]]| architect = John Griffith| architecture = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]]| visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = [[Historic Chapels Trust]]| designation1 = Grade II*| designation1_offname = | designation1_type = | designation1_criteria = | designation1_date = 15 April 1969 | delisted1_date = | designation1_parent = | designation1_number = | designation1_free1name = | designation1_free1value = | designation1_free2name = | designation1_free2value = | designation1_free3name = | designation1_free3value = | designation2 = | designation2_offname = | designation2_type = | designation2_criteria = | designation2_date = | delisted2_date = | designation2_parent = | designation2_number = | designation2_free1name = | designation2_free1value = | designation2_free2name = | designation2_free2value = | designation2_free3name = | designation2_free3value = }}
'''Dissenters' Chapel, Kensal Green''', is a working chapel with gallery attached in [[Kensal Green Cemetery]], [[North Kensington]], London.  It is recorded in the [[National Heritage List for England]] as a designated Grade&nbsp;II* [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed building]],<ref name=images>{{NHLE |num= 1080628|desc= The Dissenters' Chapel, Kensington |accessdate= 12 July 2013|mode=cs2}}</ref> and is under the care of the [[Historic Chapels Trust]].<ref name=hct>{{Citation| url = http://www.hct.org.uk/chapels/london/dissenters-chapel-kensal-green-cemetery/12| title = The Dissenters' Chapel, Kensal Green Cemetery| accessdate = 7 July 2010| publisher = [[Historic Chapels Trust]]| archive-date = 14 May 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100514100510/http://www.hct.org.uk/chapels/london/dissenters-chapel-kensal-green-cemetery/12| url-status = dead}}</ref>
==History==
The chapel was the first purpose-built [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]] chapel to be built in a public cemetery.<ref name=images/>    The eastern spur of the cemetery was reserved for the use of [[dissenter]]s.<ref name=friends/>  A competition to build the chapel was won by [[Henry Edward Kendall]], with a design in [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style.  However the contract was awarded to John Griffith of [[Finsbury]].<ref name=friends>{{Citation | url = http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/ | title = Kensal Green Cemetery: Monuments | accessdate = 7 July 2010| publisher = The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery}}</ref>  Griffith was surveyor to the General Cemetery Company, and his design was in [[Greek revival architecture|Greek revival]] style.<ref>{{Citation| url = http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/documents/KG_AC_competition.html| title = The Architectural Competition| accessdate = 12 July 2013| publisher = Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120228213144/http://www.kensalgreen.co.uk/documents/KG_AC_competition.html| archive-date = 28 February 2012| url-status = dead}}</ref>  The chapel was built between 1831 and 1834.<ref name=images/>
During the [[Second World War]] the Chapel suffered severe bomb damage during an air raid.{{Citation needed|date=November 2012}}  For much of the late half of the 20th&nbsp;century the fabric of the chapel was slowly deteriorating.  Its wings were demolished in the early 1970s.<ref name=images/>  By the 1990s the building was "derelict and subject to vandalism".<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.heritagelink.org.uk/dissenters-chapel-kensal-green-cemetery/ | title = Dissenters’ Chapel, Kensal Green Cemetery | accessdate = 7 July 2010 | publisher = The Heritage Alliance }}</ref>
The building was leased to the [[Historic Chapels Trust]] in this poor state to enable a major restoration, completed in 1997.  This included rebuilding of the wings, repair of the chapel's main body, and restoration of the historic painting scheme of the interior.  A visitor centre was constructed in the north wing.  The restoration was supported by generous grants from [[Historic England]] and was awarded an Environment Award from the [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]] in 1997, and in 1998, a [[Europa Nostra]] Award.<ref name=hct/>
==Architecture and setting==
Kensal Green Cemetery is London's oldest public cemetery, dating from 1832.  It is a listed at Grade I on the [[National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]],<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1000817|desc= Kensal Green (All Souls) Cemetery|accessdate= 12 July 2013|mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and is a [[Conservation Area (United Kingdom)|conservation area]].  The cemetery contains a large number of listed buildings in addition to the Dissenters' Chapel.<ref name=hct/>  The chapel is constructed in [[Portland stone]] and [[Stucco|rendered]] brick.  At the front is an [[Ionic order|Ionic]] [[Portico#Tetrastyle|tetrastyle portico]] with a [[pediment]].  On each side of the portico are three-[[bay (architecture)|bay]] wings, with paired [[pilaster]]s along the front, and twin Ionic columns in the [[Anta (architecture)|antae]] at the sides. Inside the chapel are modern pews, a pulpit and a reading desk.  Along the east wall are pilasters.  Under the chapel is a partly sealed [[catacomb]].<ref name=images/><ref name=friends/>
==Present-day uses==
The chapel is now managed on behalf of the [[Historic Chapels Trust]] by the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, who make it available for funerals and organise a programme of art exhibitions, open days, evening lectures, and private events.  The chapel forms the conclusion of the tours of the cemetery organised by the Friends.<ref name=friends/>
==See also==
*[[List of chapels preserved by the Historic Chapels Trust]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kensal Green, Dissenters' Chapel}}
[[Category:Grade II* listed churches in London]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1834]]
[[Category:19th-century Protestant churches]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in London]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1997]]
[[Category:Churches preserved by the Historic Chapels Trust]]
[[Category:19th-century church buildings in England]]
[[Category:Neoclassical church buildings in England]]