Local landmark to go under the hammer

An imposing Newtown chapel which has been a place of worship since 1801 will go under the hammer at a property auction later this month.

The Grade II Listed Zion Baptist Chapel, prominently located on the corner of New Church Street with New Road, will be sold at Halls auctioneers’ next collective property and land auction in Shrewsbury on Friday, November 29.

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Carrying a pre-auction guide price of £100,000 to £120,000, the chapel has a classical front in brick and freestone with a shaped gable above a huge Corinthian façade with portico and pillars.

The interior is very lavish with a rectangular congregation hall, raked gallery on iron columns and fine ironwork, segmental vaulted ceiling, round arched arcades to gallery sides, a giant Serliana arch to the organ chamber and grey marble columns.

The accommodation comprises two storeys above a basement, which housed the schoolroom and a rear service block containing offices, kitchen and schoolrooms.

The building, which has wooden framed single glazed sash windows with decorative stone surrounds, has mains electricity, water and gas heating.

The original chapel was built in 1801 and enlarged in 1814, 1821 and 1836 before the current building was rebuilt in 1881, to a design by architect George Morgan of Carmarthen, costing £8,000. The chapel was designed to accommodate 1,334 people.

When the memorial stones were laid on August 17, 1881, the Baptist choir sang and the minister, the Rev J. W. Williams of Derby gave a history of the Baptists in the county. It was claimed that the church had 364 communicants and 550 scholars and teachers.

James Evans, a director of Halls, said:

“The auction provides a unique opportunity to acquire what is more like a cathedral than a chapel and offers a wide variety of potential uses, subject to planning consent, to hopefully secure both the future and the integrity of this wonderful building.

“It has huge potential to continue as a religious place of worship or for mixed use as offices, workshops, leisure purposes or even residential. It will be a fantastic project for the buyer and their architect.”

Viewing is by appointment with Halls’ Welshpool office on Tel: 01938 555552.