Yatton Chapel

Yatton chapel was built in the 12th century, with alterations made to it during the 13th century. The chapel is most notable for its elaborate 12th-century carved tympanum over the south door, which is its earliest identifiable feature. The doorway is typical of Norman work, with a rounded arch decorated with chevrons, and carved side columns.

The chapel is a simple two-cell layout built of local sandstone, comprising a chancel and nave, with no division between them.

Yatton contains some 13th century windows, one of them set into a wall where there is evidence that much of the wall was rebuilt in the 16th or 17th century.

Inside, the chapel is completely bare, with a simple hard-packed earth floor and crumbling plaster walls, which I think adds to its charm. The interior timber-framed roof is another nice feature of this charming chapel, which was added in the 17th century.

The chapel contains two very simple fonts both dating to the 12th century. The smaller damaged font is original to the chapel, and the larger font came from the disused St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Brobury, Herefordshire.

Yatton Chapel closed as a parish church in 1841 when a new church was built less than a mile away. The new church of All Saints contains a rood-screen of 15th century origin, which has been removed Yatton Chapel and reused in the new church.