Showing the entrance with symmetrical windows, doors and embellished with a classical pediment.
A few years ago, I was involved in a grant scheme for repair works to the Royal Dockyard Church, Chatham. The former church is located within the boundary of the Historic Dockyard Chatham, a former dockyard sited along the Medway with a high concentration of heritage assets, including several Grade I, Grade II* and Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
As the name suggests, it was built for sailors and dockyard workers and was built in 1880. It has a classical design with Venetian windows, brickwork and which are common features of Georgian architecture, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Designed by Edward Holl and has some of the earliest examples of cast iron in the dockyard. It has a largely complete interior with cast-iron columns and a gallery on three sides. The building is Grade II* listed due to its high level of historic and architectural interest and the significance of the building is derived from its age, materials, design and historical association with the dockyard.
The building was in use until 1981 when the church closed and subsequently became derelict. In 2011 a fire damaged the roof, and the building was placed on the Heritage at Risk register. The Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, University of Kent, Historic England and other stakeholders worked together to find a suitable use for the building, with Historic England providing heritage advice for the repair of the building.
The building has been repaired and converted into a 300 seat lecture theatre for the University of Kent and included adding lighting and sound equipment to the interior and only minor alterations have been carried out to the exterior. Alterations and repair works have been sympathetic to the character of the building, and the conversion works have secured the future of the building.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14526711
Photos: Authors own
jfheritage.co.uk 