Late 19th century congregational chapel, later an independent chapel and now a house, 'Tillingham Congregational Church', Chapel Lane, Tillingham (EHER 45561)

A substantial red brick chapel with yellow brick embellishments and a slate roof. It comprises a large chapel room with wooden pews and a meeting room at the rear. The chpale opened in 1868 and the rear room was given over to a Sunday School in 1876, which may have been planned for when the building was constructed. The chapel closed in 2018 and is now a private house. The building is locally listed.

An Independent Chapel (later the Congregational Chapel) is shown on the west side of the road on the 1st edn. OS map of 1881. This is a single-story, rendered building. It has been converted to a private house. <1> March 2025. Building recording. The redundant Congregational Church at Tillingham is a substantial and picturesque red-brick building that opened in 1868 and closed in 2018. Its elegant Gothic Revival exterior with high-quality detailing in gault-brick remains largely unaltered and makes a major contribution to the historic character of the village street. The arched windows are particularly impressive and retain most of their original, characterful glass. The building shares unusual details with the Congregational Church at nearby Tollesbury and may be the work of the same well-respected architect, Charles Pertwee of Chelmsford, who was responsible for many non-conformist churches in Essex. The rear gable is adjoined by a lean-to in an entirely different style that housed the Sunday School and was probably added when the school was founded in 1876. Two rows of ostensibly original coat hooks survive inside at an appropriate height for small children. The interior has been otherwise largely stripped of original fixtures and fittings, although the pulpit and a harmonium against the western gable were shown in an early-20th century photograph. The cast-iron pulpit rails are surprisingly elaborate for a non-conformist setting. The same gable incorporates three arched recesses that appear to have been decorative features infilled with diagonal boarding before the outermost were pierced to create the present twin doors to the lean-to. A Sunday School is believed to have been planned from the outset, and the recesses may have been included with its future construction in mind. The building is not listed but appears on the local list, maintained by Maldon District Council with the entry below: Tillingham. South Street, Chapel. This Congregational Chapel was built in 1868 after the earlier barn meeting house burnt down. It is constructed of red brick with yellow brick embellishments and a slate roof. The windows and doors have pointed arched heads. It comprises a large chapel room with wooden pews and a meeting room at the rear. It closed in 2018. Significance This is a good example of a Victorian Congregational Chapel, built using good quality materials and detailing. The chapel forms an impressive, attractive building in the street scene making a positive contribution to the character of the Tillingham Conservation Area. <2>