| Octagon Chapel | |
|
A photograph of the Mallett Showrooms at the Octagon Chapel, circa 1900.
|
|
| Location: | Bath, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built: | 1767 |
| Architect: | Timothy Lightholder |
| Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated: | 14 July, 1955[1] |
| Reference #: | 443091 |
|
Location of Octagon Chapel in Somerset
|
|
The Octagon Chapel in Milsom Street, Bath, Somerset, England was built in 1767 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[1]
The building was designed as a church by the architect Timothy Lightholder or Lightoler,[1] whose specific brief was to produce a structure which would be warm, comfortable and well lit. The Octagon fulfilled all of these requirements, and it became a fashionable church. Eminent and distinguished visitors, including Jane Austen,[2] made a point of engaging a pew for as long as they stayed in the city, hiring it at the same time as they hired their lodgings. The most expensive of these were like small rooms, each with its own fireplace and easy chairs.[3] Between service and sermon, an interval was allowed during which footmen poked the fires and saw that their master and mistress were comfortable. The church, as a popular venue to "see and be seen", was not popular with The 'Enthusiastics', later known as Methodists.[4]
William Herschel was appointed as the organist in 1766 and gave his introductory concert on 1 Jan 1767.[5] As the organ was still incomplete he performed his own compositions including a violin concerto, an oboe concerto and a harpsichord sonata. The organ was completed in October 1767.[5] The organ was built by Snezler. Part of the keyboards and pipes have survived and are on display at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy.[6]
In 1858 William Connor Magee published a book of sermons he had given at the chapel.[7]
The vaults of this building were let out to a wine merchant, which gave rise to the verses by Christopher Anstey:
Spirits above and spirits below,
Spirits of Bliss and spirits of woe,
The spirits above are spirits Divine,
The spirits below are spirits of wine.
Since the building was leasehold, it was never consecrated, so when it fell into disuse in the 1890s Mallett Antiques took it over. New showrooms were built on each side of the church, with workshops and storage in the basement. A gas engine was installed to drive the polishing lathes, work the lift, make the electric light and, by means of a fan, circulate air through every part of the building.
In World War II it was used as a food office and after the war was restored, opening as an art exhibition space for the Bath Festival of 1951.[8]
It later served as the headquarters of the Royal Photographic Society.[9]
In 2008 to 2009 it was converted for retail and restaurant use.[10]