Similarly to the old Town Hall in Ottery St Mary, which now comprises the library, the Tourist Information Centre and the local newspaper, this is an excellent example of a building that has outlived its original purpose and has been divided up to accommodate other modern businesses and organisations.
This building was originally The Good Shepherd Church, built to serve a growing population and to provide for the elderly who had difficulty in attending the out of town parish church for evensong during the winter months. Built in 1889, at the cost of £1,250, in what was once called Sidmouth Street (now Queen Street), it eventually became redundant due to a dwinding congregation of churchgoers and was subsequently sold in the 1970s. The building was reorganised into three separate parts, the frontage belonging to the estate agents John Wood & Co, the above floor used by Anne Pengelly's stained glass studio (The Good Shepherd Studio), and the rear is now the Masonic Hall.
I had the opportunity to take some photos inside the Masonic Hall when the AGM meeting of the Axe Valley Heritage Society was once held there. The interior has been modernised, and is quite different to the exterior. However, there are a few interesting features, and it was lovely to see it lit up at night.
The gate below, with the masonic compass insignia.
I also made a daytime visit to the Good Shepherd Studio. I couldn't take many photographs whilst there, as a stained glass class was in progress, but just managed to take a few of the more accessible architectural features.
The front window, above, with the tiny round one above that and part of the wooden ceiling trusses. Below shows some details.
The Romanesque style side window below includes some of Anne's work attached to the original windows.
Anne very kindly showed me photos of the original church, below, which show the original front porch at the front...now replaced by the glass frontage of John Wood & Co.
And, a lovely surprise was that she designed and produced the stained glass insertion for the Masonic Hall, depicting the compass insignia together with the title De La Pole. De La Pole No 1181 is the name of the masonic lodge in Seaton and is probably in honour of the family of De La Pole who were once incumbent at Shute Manor.
And, just to finish off, here are a few more photos of the exterior.
No comments:
Post a Comment