NHER 7356 (Building record) - Oulton Chapel; Old Meeting House Independent Congregational Church

17 August 1977. Site visit by E. Rose (NAU).
Old Meeting (Independent Congregational Church). Built of red brick with a double-shaped gable at each end. Dated 1728 in clamp irons. The building has a facade of four bays, two storeys doorways in end bays lead into interior porches with separate doors into rear pews. Two large wooden columns support the roof. Galleries on posts.
Central pulpit with stairs on east wall. Seating takes the from of Box pews. 19th century memorials on walls (one referring to a burial 'in the communion seat'!) and in red-brick floor. The original collecting pans survive as does a notice that marriages may be solemnised. 19th century gravestones outside against facade, and in yard to north. Vestry at rear dated 1839 and 1891. This is a perfect example of a virtually unchanged meeting house of that date, but is in deplorable condition; it is filthy, much affected by damp, and the galleries are disused.
E. Rose (NAU).

C. H. Spurgeon preached to five thousand people on the lawn between the chapel and the manse: this must have been a well-packed meeting for the space is not very large.
NARG survey (S1) in files.
E. Rose (NAU).

'Mr Bole, a Dissenter, has a pretty Box here. The family of them were tanners till this time. They have lately built a new Meeting House upon account of Armingland Hall going to be disposed of where the prebyterians usually met' (S2).
E. Rose (NAU).

Chapel fully restored by 1994 - by Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust Chapel listed grade II*, manse grade II (S3). Manse is dated to late 18th century and reference is made to fine staircase, original doors throughout and fine principal chimneypiece.
E. Rose (NLA) 9 August 1994.

Survey by C. Jeffries (1989) in file, including photos (S4).
Architects drawings (S5), pre 1992, as large rolled plans.
E. Rose (NAU/NLA).

A remote chapel one mile west of Irmingland Hall. The meeting of the Independents in Oulton was reported in 1669. During 1672 many meeting house licences were issued in this area. In 1774, the Oulton congregation separated and formed a new church and the present meeting house was opened in 1731. Services continued to be held in the meeting house until the 1970s. It was sold to the Norfolk Historic Building Trust in 1989.
Information from (S6) which also includes further details.
M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 29 October 2012.