Zoar Chapel, Canterbury

Zoar Chapel from Burgate Lane

Built into the medieval walls of Canterbury is a small Baptist Chapel, opened in 1845 in what was once a bastion tower, part of Canterbury's defences. Its official title is the Zoar Strict & Particular Baptist Chapel. The chapel foundations date to 1140.

History

By the 14th century, the Roman walls of Canterbury were derelict. To protect the city, the Roman wall was repaired and strengthened with the addition of 24 towers to create the Canterbury City Walls we see today. One of these towers stood near St George's Gate on Burgate Lane. In 1801 the wall bastion was enlarged and used as a water cistern, converted to become the City Conduit to store and pump water into the city.

When a larger cistern was built in Canterbury Castle, the bastion tower was redundant and fell into disuse. In 1845 it was sold to the Strict Baptists for use as a chapel. It closed in 2017 and is now a non-religious chapel and wedding venue. According to the chapel owners, it has hosted weddings since at least 1846.

Zoar Chapel from the east (Lower Bridge Street)

The chapel is semi-circular in shape, with walls of brick and stone, and the main hall measures 30' x 21'.. A small garden is laid out beside the building. Water pipes can still be seen in the chapel basement from its days as a cistern. Before its recent conversion, the interior of the chapel had a full immersion pool for performing baptisms.

Above the chapel door is what remains of a heraldic shield with the Canterbury coat of arms. Only a crown symbol is still legible above the name 'Zoar Chapel' and the date 1845.

The chapel is now known as the City Wall Chapel and is a popular venue for weddings, housing about 80 people in an intimate space. It is listed Grade II by Historic England in recognition of its heritage value.

The chapel datestone

Visiting

The Zoar Chapel stands on the south-east side of Burgate Lane, between Burgate and St George's Street. Unfortunately, the chapel interior is not generally open to the public, but you can view the exterior at any time. The nearest car park is at Queningate (CT1 2HG). The Zoar Chapel is easy to reach on foot from Burgate Lane and from the city wall walk.

To really get a sense of how this historic structure has changed over the centuries, look from the far side of Lower Bridge Street (the A28). From there you can see the rough stone base with a band of red brick above.

Above the brick is another layer of rendered stone and, set into the semicircle of stone are round-headed windows, some in sash design and others in fanlight style, a reminder of the building's time as a chapel.

An information panel explaining the chapel's history is set on the exterior wall.