Keld United Reformed Church is a historic building in Keld, North Yorkshire, a village in England.
John Leland recorded a chapel in Keld in 1540. It was disused by 1695, when it was walled up, and was in ruins by 1706. In 1789, the congregationalist Edward Stillman resolved to build a new church on the site, which was enlarged in about 1820. In 1861, the chapel was rebuilt and enlarged, at a cost of £306 10s. The chapel joined the Congregational Union of England and Wales, which later became part of the United Reformed Church. The building was grade II listed in 1986. [1] [2] [3] In 2009, the Keld Resource Centre converted the attached manse into holiday accommodation. [4]
The chapel and manse are built of stone, with rusticated quoins, and a stone slate roof with stone copings. The chapel to the right has a single storey, and contains two round-arched sash windows. In the centre is a two-storey gabled porch with a round-arched gabled bellcote. The porch contains a round-arched doorway with a quoined surround, voussoirs and a moulded arris, above which is a sundial. Over this is a round-arched opening with a keystone, containing a window and an inscribed and dated panel. The manse has two storeys and two bays, and contains a round-arched doorway with a keystone and sash windows. In front, there is a low wall with saddleback coping and wrought iron railings. The gate piers to the manse have pointed caps, and those to the chapel have pyramidal caps. Inside the chapel is a west gallery, a recess with a reading desk, a carved minister's seat, a decorative case iron dais and two memorial slabs, one to Stillman. [3] [5]
