One comment on “John Middleton and Son, Architects”

1. Richard Barton

   October 30, 2017

   

   Closure of Clearwell Cemetery Chapel.
   Concerns for public safety at Clearwell cemetery chapel have led to it being fenced off and
   access forbidden as the entrance door is in danger of collapse from the weight of the
   damaged rose window above it, caused by a large tree growing next to the chapel door.
   The tree was recently cut down in the hope that this will prevent further movement to the
   west wall but it will take some time to know to what degree the wall has stabilised.
   The Cemetery (Mortuary) Chapel was designed by the renowned Gothic Revival architect
   John Middleton in 1867. Middleton was engaged by the Dowager Countess Caroline
   Dunraven whose family owned the estate at Clearwell until the late 19th century. Caroline’s
   ancestor bought the estate in 1642 and Thomas Wyndham built Clearwell Court 1727. The
   Countess engaged Middleton on the remodelling of Clearwell Court, she also used his
   services in the design for the building of St Peter’s Church 1866, a fine example of Gothic
   Revival style. Middleton was responsible for designing the frontal of St Anne’s well,
   repairing the 14th Century cross and designing the Cottage Hospital which is now
   Dunraven House.
   Clearwell has been referred to as ‘John Middleton Village’ as it has the largest collection of
   his work in one place in the UK. This is a remarkable accolade for Clearwell and offers an
   opportunity for the future enhancement of its architectural heritage in the form of a heritage
   trail.
   John Middleton was a major designer of railway buildings for the Stockton and Darlington
   Railway Company before taking a mysterious career break in Italy and then coming to
   work in Gloucestershire several years later.
   The Parochial Church Council wishes to meet with those interested in finding a future for
   the chapel which is open to a range of possible re-uses. ‘Our aim’, said the Interim Minster
   the Rev Alan Wearmouth, ‘is to preserve this historical building for which our parish has no
   use and which we cannot afford to repair and maintain. It would be a sad loss if it was to
   fall into total disrepair’. The Parochial Church Council is anxious to ensure that local family
   associations are respected , as for example, in caring for various plaques which are
   contained within the building.
   The Parochial Church Council would also like to hear from anyone with the requisite skills
   and equipment to remove diseased trees and those growing too close to the chapel. They
   would be glad for someone to take down the trees and remove the firewood.
   A public meeting will be held at Clearwell, in the meantime anyone interested should
   contact the Parish Co-ordinator Alison Stuttard on 01594 368849.
   Mid-Wyedean Parish
   6a St John’s Street
   Coleford GL16 8AR
   office.midwyedean@gmail.com

   Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Enter your comment here...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Email (required) (Address never made public)

Name (required)

Website

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

Notify me of new comments via email.

Notify me of new posts via email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.