The Chapel, Clumber

Commissioned in 1886 by the devout Catholic 7th Duke of Newcastle, Clumber Chapel (or Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, to give it its proper name) took three years to build.

Inside and out, this ‘cathedral in miniature’ is a masterpiece of the Victorian ecclesiastical architects who supported the resurgence of Catholicism in the Church of England. The Duke commissioned Bodley and Garner, a firm of church architects, to do the work. Clumber Chapel is almost entirely the work of George Bodley and is an outstanding example of Victorian craftsmanship.

Clumber Chapel is a remarkable expression of the intimate connection between the Gothic Revival and the 19th century Catholic revival within the Church of England.