Weld Memorial Chapel

Memorial Chapel

This Grade 2* Memorial, or Mortuary, Chapel was built by Charles Weld of Chideock Manor in 1852 in memory of his parents, Humphrey and Christina Weld, and there is a Latin inscription to them over the north door. The Chapel is built in a cruciform style and is surrounded by a cemetery which is no longer used. It features rich artistic details of considerable quality, demonstrating ideas which led to the Arts & Crafts Movement. It is an important landmark in the story of Catholic Recusancy and Emancipation, and a very rare example of a complete mid-19th Century RC Mortuary Chapel.

The interior is richly decorated with religious iconography and inscriptions and is simply furnished with a carved stone altar. The patterned mosaic-style tiling also features religious symbols, and a sealed entrance to a crypt lies in the south transept.

Outside, the east wall has a large cross with Alpha and Omega and the crossed keys of the Papal insignia. On the west wall is a low relief stone cross of Christ Crucified with INRI carved over the figures of Christ with two doves and lamb. The boundary walls and ornamental wrought iron gates, which feature religious emblems, form an historic ensemble with the Chapel.

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