Relhan Collection : 333 Willingham church. Chapel adjoining the chancel – interior view

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>1808</p><p>Drawn by S Lysons</p><p>This exceptional chapel, now used as a vestry, is thought to have been an anchorite’s chapel in C14. The proportions and details of the plan with an altar below the E window, a N window, ‘the earth window’, and the squint doorway concealing the entrance from the nave support this premise. There were grills to the windows, probably added when the chapel was used as a treasury by the Bishop. The small building is unique and is built entirely in dressed stone with a stone roof supported on moulded stone arch braces with quatrefoils in their apices. The interior is lime washed which is flaking and much in need of repair.</p><p>Bradley and Pevsner 2014; Tudor-Craig in Hicks 1997; Lysons 1808; VCH 1989; church leaflet</p></p>