Royal Memorial Chapel, Royal Military Academy

Details

SANDHURST

SU86SE LONDON ROAD 674-1/18/303 (North West side) 08/07/98 Royal Memorial Chapel, Royal Military Academy

GV II

Garrison church. 1879, by Col. R H Williams RE, (Cpt. Henry Cole -Pevsner) reorientated and nave added 1937, by Cpt. A C Martin, architect. MATERIALS: red brick with polychromatic red and black brick dressings to transepts, stone dressings to nave, and slate roof. PLAN: aisled Greek cross plan. STYLE: Tuscan Romanesque Revival style. EXTERIOR: nave aisle has plain moulding below moulded parapet coping, with round arched windows and sunken panels. 1930s east gable has apsidal end with half dome and lower parapetted sides, and stepped central bay with blind round arched panel. Symmetrical, strongly articulated North side has central 1879 pedimented transept with moulded pedimented central section rising above aisles, and belcote with pitched roof and 2 round arched openings and finial, round arched ground floor arcade of 5-bays with pilasters linked by impost band, outer round and inner lozenge panels in tympana, black bands to spandrels above, outer doorway with responds and white marble friezes over double doors, with similar central window, in upper section, 1930s 3-arch arcade has paired central round arched windows, and outer lozenges. Nave aisles either side have 3 round arched windows, inner 2 beneath shallow clerestory gable with Lombard frieze and moulded cill band to 7-bay arcade with plain stone shafts. End aisle window beneath double recessed panels with paired round arched heads. 2-light clerestory windows within round arched recess. 1930s west end has blind outer bays set forward with shallow clasping buttresses to coped parapet, and small niche with canted pedestal, linked by narthex with steps up to 3-bay open stone arcade on Ionic columns, beneath raking roof up to west gable, which has 3 blind bays of round arches on alternate columns and brackets, to recessed gable between plain buttresses with 9-bay arcade of windows on brick piers. South side similar to north, 1879 transept gable has central 5-sided canted apse with stepped round-arched windows and bracketed eaves cornice, and blind round arches each side with similar 3-bay arcade to gable above, with pediment divided by 7 recesses, mid C20 single storey parapetted vestry extends across bottom. INTERIOR: richly decorated with marble and mosaic, paired square nave piers to cornice, linked across the nave by round arches between saucer domes at the crossing and to east and west. West projecting corner galleries have paired lower arches on Ionic column and iron railings to upper gallery. Timber panelled aisles. Apse contains marble aedicule with Corinthian pilasters to pediment and round arch. 1879 south apse, closed by timber screen, lined with brown marble, has round arch to mosaic half dome. Marble octagonal pulpit with round arches on green columns. FITTINGS: stands for remembrance books and organ case 1950s by Sir Hugh Casson. STAINED GLASS: east part by Powell's, in west part by Laurence Lee. HISTORY: strikingly rich and complex composition. Original chapel, now transept, was modelled on Sienna cathedral, and chapel was re-orientated when it was extended in 1930s. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Berkshire: 1966-: 211; PSA Drawings Collection, NMR, Swindon: Memorial Chapel: 1898-: ALD/199-202).

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