United Reformed Church
Maidstone, Kent
Hidden away on Week Street this church is much more than appears from the street.
Built in 1884 as a chapel to the Maidstone Union Workhouse this small chapel has seen many changes over its lifetime and is the only remaining feature of the workhouse which, following later use as a local hospital, was demolished in 1994. It consists of a nave and chancel with north and south transepts and a small vestry. The nave is clerestoried, with three triangular gables each with a small sexfoil window.
The east widow is the only stained -glass window and depicts the Crucifixion. It is topped with a small window featuring the Star of David and a dove. The roof is supported by hammer beams and there is evidence of a victorian ventilation system now no longer usable. The organ, choir stalls and pulpit were removed in the 1980s together with some pews to make the church a more usable space. In the sanctuary there is an old bell that came from the chapel that once existed on the burial ground for the workhouse.